Israeli Troops Storm Al-Aqsa

Date: 1 March 2010
Source: IOL
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – At least 15 Palestinians were injured Sunday, February 28, when Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine.

“The police were provoking people,” Abdul Azim Samhadana, the head of the Palestinian Awqaf, told Haaretz. Occupation troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian worshippers hurling stones at Jewish extremists trying to get into the compound. The clashes left at least 15 Palestinians and two soldiers injured. Seven people were also arrested.
Israeli police said around 1,000 “tourists” had visited the compound in the morning. Adnan al-Husseini, the Palestinian-appointed governor of Al-Quds, said Palestinians spent the night at Al-Aqsa Mosque out of concern Jewish extremists were planning to enter the holy site.
Al-Aqsa is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and it is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka`bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Its significance has been reinforced by the incident of Al Isra'a and Al Mi'raj — the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him).
Jews claim that their alleged Temple of Solomon exists underneath the Muslim holy place and want to destroy it to build their temple. Condemnation the new Israeli aggression drew fire for stone-killing efforts to restart peace talks.
"These absurd Israeli policies are aimed at destroying international efforts and especially the US administration's efforts to restart a serious and genuine peace process," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He called for "urgent intervention" from the US to get Israel to halt its attacks on the Muslim holy places.
The world’s largest Muslim bloc, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, also condemned the new Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque. "Such a breach, which comes days after the Israeli government's decision to illegally add the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Mosque of Bilal bin Rabah to the list of Israeli heritage sites, is a dangerous development in the Israeli scheme to stifle Islamic sanctities," OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement. He warned that "any damage to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy places will have serious consequences with unpredictable danger to international peace and security."
Last September, several Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli troops during an attempt by Jewish extremists to enter into the mosque. The second Palestinian intifada erupted in September 2000 after a visit by then opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the holy mosque.
The new Israeli aggression came a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil (Hebron) and Bilal Mosque in Bethlehem to a list of 150 so-called Jewish heritage sites that would be renovated to reconnect Israelis to their history. The decision has sparked deadly clashes across the Palestinian lands and drawn worldwide condemnation.
The UNESCO voiced concerns Friday over the Israeli plan to annex the two mosques, while the US, Israel’s chief ally, described the decision as “provocative”. The European Union also denounced the Israeli decision for undermining efforts to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.
The world’s largest Muslim bloc, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, has also called for action over the Israeli plan to annex the two Muslim holy sites.