Zionist Settler Groups Planning Provocative March As ‘Israeli’ Attacks On Al-Aqsa Mosque Continue

By Staff, Agencies

Far-right Zionist settlers are planning to go ahead with an unauthorized march in occupied al-Quds on Wednesday that is expected to stoke further tension following repeated raids of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque by ‘Israeli’ occupation forces.

Early in the morning, ‘Israeli’ occupation forces stormed al-Aqsa, fired rubber-coated metal bullets at Palestinians, trapped worshippers inside prayer halls, surrounded women in front of the ‘Dome of the Rock,’ and forcibly removed Palestinians from the mosque’s courtyard to clear the way for Zionist settlers.

Zionist settlers later entered the mosque’s complex in groups under heavy protection from the ‘Israeli’ occupation’s armed forces and performed Talmudic rituals marking the Jewish so-called ‘Passover.’

The occupation regime forces have raided the mosque five times this month, four of which have been in the past four days. Far-right ‘Israeli’ settler groups had announced plans to storm the holy mosque this week in large numbers, starting from Sunday, to mark the ‘Passover.’

At least 650 settlers stormed al-Aqsa on Tuesday, according to state news agency Wafa, after ‘Israeli’ occupation forces secured their way following a violent crackdown on Palestinian worshippers.

On Sunday, 545 settlers stormed the mosque and 561 others entered on Monday, according to the Waqf, the Jordanian-run trust that oversees the holy site.

Tensions are expected to rise later in the day with right-wing ‘Israeli’ organizations planning to hold a march around the walls of the Old City despite not having received an approval from the police, Haaretz reported.

The police claimed they will not provide security for the so-called ‘Flag March,’ which is expected to pass the Damascus Gate that leads into to the Muslim Quarter on its way to the Western Wall, and asked the organizers to change the route.

At the same time, ‘Israeli’ occupation forces carried out raids and search campaigns in the occupied West Bank, arresting at least six Palestinians from Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem.