Crescent International
Attacks by illegal zionist occupation forces against Palestinian worshippers in Masjid al-Aqsa continued for the second night on April 5.
Heavily-armed Israeli troops with their filthy boots barged inside the Prayer Hall at Al-Qibli Mosque in the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa after worshippers completed their late-night taraweeh prayers.
Al-Qibli Mosque refers to the mosque that served as the first qibla (prayer direction) of Muslims.
It is housed in the compound called the Noble Sanctuary that comprises, in addition to the Qibli Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, a number of madrassas and zawiyahs.
Firing stun grenades, the zionist occupation forces assaulted Muslim worshippers with clubs and rifle butts.
Video footage showed zionist brutes mercilessly beating up men and women, many of them elderly, inside the mosque.
One elderly Palestinian woman recounted that she was sitting in a chair reading the noble Qur'an, when an Israeli fired tear gas shell hit her.
She broke down in tears as she recounted her horrible experience.
This was the second night of attack on Palestinian worshippers.
The first one occurred on April 4 night when the zionist thugs arrested more than 450 worshippers.
Many of the worshippers were observing itikaf (religious seclusion) in the month of Ramadan.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Al-Quds (Jerusalem), their medical teams were prevented from entering the compound to treat the wounded on the first night of the attack.
After the second attack on April 5, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated six people inside Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
Two of them were in serious condition and had to be transferred to hospital.
Adding insult to injury, the heavily-armed Israeli occupation troops escorted hundreds of howling illegal zionist squatters (aka Jewish settlers) as they walked around the sanctuary on April 5 morning.
Imagine if Jews worshipping in a synagogue anywhere in the world were attacked in such a manner.
There would be international outrage.
Yet, hundreds of Palestinian worshippers are clubbed, hit with rifle butts and tear gassed inside their holy sanctuary and there is hardly a whisper of condemnation of zionist criminal behaviour.
The White House said it was “extremely concerned” and urged restraint by both Israelis and Palestinians.
“We remain extremely concerned by the continuing violence and we urge all sides to avoid further escalation,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Urging both Israelis and Palestinians to show “restraint” creates a false equivalence.
Palestinians are in their place of worship.
Heavily-armed zionist occupation troops have attacked them and continue to do so.
If the US and any other western regimes were serious about concern for human rights and life, they would not only condemn the zionist criminals but impose sanctions on them.
That, however, will not happen because Israel is one of them: a colonial settler entity that has illegally occupied Palestine.
Both Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad have vowed to resist the occupiers.
Both Islamic Resistance groups called upon Palestinians to go to Al-Aqsa Mosque in large numbers and resist the occupation troops.
While the Arab regimes have issued a tepid statement expressing "concern", Islamic Iran was forthright in its condemnation of zionist barbarism.
The least the Arab regimes and Turkey can do is to cut off diplomatic relations with a regime that is now completely dominated by neo-Nazis.
Further, that Palestinian resisters be given the where-withal to confront their occupiers with force.
If the zionists get a dose of their own medicine, they will begin to back off.
It should also be understood that the defence of Masjid al Aqsa is not the sole responsibility of the Palestinian people.
It is an obligation of every Muslim regardless of where he/she may reside to help liberate Masjid al-Aqsa and Palestine.
