Under the protection of the Israeli occupation police, dozens of extremists and Israeli settlers stormed on Tuesday the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque from Al-Magharba (Morocco) Gate. Statements and calls for extremist associations were spread on social media, calling on their supporters to storm Al-Aqsa and carry out rounds inside it again on Thursday afternoon. Israeli Radio said that Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir and a Likud member May Golan intended to march in the Old City from Bab Al-Amud using their parliamentary privilege. It indicated that the Israeli Ministerial Council for Political and Security Affairs would discuss holding a rally in Jerusalem, pointing out that the outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the General Police Inspector to find various alternatives. The occupation police had decided to cancel the settlers' march in the Old City of Jerusalem in case it might trigger outrage anew among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Earlier, Palestine on Sunday warned against calls for mass storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers. In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said Israel is intensifying calls through government bodies and extremist associations to urge Israeli settlers "to participate in provocative rallies in the streets and neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem and its old town." The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated that the settler associations are using the slogan "Day of the Unification of Jerusalem" to "attract more Jewish youth to participate in the storming of the Holy Mosque" as part of its plan to "judaize" the city. On Saturday, the Council of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and Holy Places in Jerusalem warned Israeli authorities from heeding the calls of Jewish extremists "for massive incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque." Palestinians in recent days have protested in solidarity with residents of occupied East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood amid clashes with Israeli police. The protests came as the Israeli Central Court in East Jerusalem approved a decision to evict seven Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Israeli settlers at the beginning of this year. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community. — Agencies
