Crescent International
The illegal zionist occupiers of Palestine attacked and beat up Palestinian worshippers heading to pray in Masjid al Aqsa last night.
On the first night of Ramadan (Sunday March 10), as worshippers tried to enter the sacred sanctuary, heavily-armed zionist police attacked them preventing many from praying.
The zionist fascist regime has given free rein to its heavily-armed police as well as illegal squatters from North America and Europe to indulge in horrific violence.
Video shows Israeli forces beating worshippers as they tried to enter the Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Masjid al-Aqsa is Islam’s third holiest site and the first qibla(direction of prayer) of Muslims.
Many Palestinians were prevented from entering the sacred sanctuary.
Quoting local media, Middle East Eye reported that Israeli soldiers had set up multiple checkpoints around the Old City in occupied Al-Quds (East Jerusalem), blocking roads and obstructing people from reaching the site.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli police only allowed some men and women over the age of 40 to enter the site.
One Palestinian woman told local media that “the number of Palestinians who were prevented from entering al-Aqsa was more than the number of worshippers who were able to enter and perform taraweeh prayers.”
The zionist occupiers also attacked worshippers.
Video footage shared online showed armed Israeli police officers are seen hitting Palestinians in the streets of Al-Quds while they were walking towards the noble sanctuary to attend taraweeh prayers.
Even the New York Times (no friend of the Palestinians) was forced to admit that many Palestinians find it hard to reach Al-Aqsa amid Israeli restrictions.
This despite the fact that on March 5, the zionist regime had issued a statement saying it would not restrict Palestinian worshippers from praying in Al-Aqsa during Ramadan.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces stopped and checked the bags of young men and women in the alleyways of Al-Quds.
Zionist restrictions of Palestinians have escalated even as heavily-armed illegal zionist squatters have increased their incursions onto the sacred compound.
They are protected by Israeli forces.
The zionists have made no secret of their desire to destroy the noble sanctuary in preparation for building their mythical third temple.
Zionist attacks on Palestinian worshippers and Al-Aqsa Mosque will continue to escalate.
It was this threat that had forced Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to launch their operation on October 7 against the occupation forces.
In Gaza, meanwhile, the people are not only being bombed and starved, they are also forced to pray out in the open because all their mosques have been destroyed.
