Yerusalem, MINA – Hundreds of Palestinian worshipers who will pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque are prevented from entering the shrine. Stationed at the entrance to Jerusalem, Israeli troops stopped a bus carrying Palestinians to the Al Aqsa Mosque for morning prayers.
They forced the bus to turn back and return to their homes. The occupation forces claim the move is an effort to prevent disruption at the site, reported on Middle East Monitor on Friday.
According to the Times of Israel, thousands of additional occupation forces were deployed in Jerusalem before Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque.
“The police have no right to not allow us to come to the mosque. They punish people without reason and this is not the first time,” said a congregation.
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Large-scale deployment was strengthened as a tight pre-emptive security measure after this week’s escalating violence which resulted in the killing of at least three Palestinians.
It ollows a ‘peace plan’ from the US President Donald Trump that has been rejected by all Palestinian parties as well as the United Nations because it is not based on an internationally recognized resolution.
It will enable Israel to achieve a number of long-held goals, including full control over disputed Jerusalem and a green light to annex all settlements and other parts of the occupied West Bank.
Last week, tens of thousands of worshipers headed to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayer after the ‘peace plan’ was announced to be attacked by Israeli rubber-coated bullets.
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Palestinian worshipers shout “Our souls and blood, we will sacrifice for Al-Aqsa’s sake.”
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights based in the Gaza Strip documented 322 violations of international human rights law by Israeli occupation forces and settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories this week. The action was in response to a peaceful protest organized against Trump’s ‘peace plan’. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Also Read: 20 Palestinians, Including Children, Killed in New Israeli Strikes on Gaza
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