Hamas slams ‘racist’ Israeli settler violations against al-Aqsa

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, was cited by the Palestinian Information Center (Palinfo) as saying in a statement on Monday that the violations against the al-Aqsa Mosque reflected the injustice to which the Palestinian people are subjected.

"Thanks to our people's resistance and steadfastness, these incursions were turned into a continuous state of depletion to the Israeli occupation," Barhoum said.

The Hamas spokesman called on the Palestinians from al-Quds, the West Bank and the 1948 occupied territories to mobilize in defense of the holy shrine. Barhoum said the Arab and Muslim nations are required to support the Palestinians in their battle against the occupying regime.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of settlers broke into the al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli forces and provocatively performed rituals there. It was the first day of the Jewish holidays which will continue until mid-October.

Also on Sunday, scores of Israeli settlers, escorted by military forces, broke into the compound through the Moroccan Gate and provocatively performed rituals and Talmudic prayers.

The incidents took place amid calls by Israeli settler organizations to hold mass break-ins into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of the Jewish holidays on September 29. The compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli regime enables the Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa despite the fact that an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967 prohibits non-Muslim worship at the compound.