While Jewish and Muslim worshippers have long prayed and worshipped side by side, Israel’s encouragement of fundamentalist Zionism has increased the often bloody clashes that happen within and around the complex of Al-Aqsa.
While Jewish and Muslim worshippers have long prayed and worshipped side by side, Israel’s encouragement of fundamentalist Zionism has increased the often bloody clashes that happen within and around the complex of Al-Aqsa.
At least 61 Palestinian worshippers were injured on Sunday according to the Red Crescent when Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa mosque on Eid day this Sunday. Reportedly 14 worshippers were transferred to a hospital to treat more serious injuries.
Israeli forces were reported to have used tear gas, rubber bullets, and truncheons on the Palestinians inside the compound of Al-Aqsa mosque, where an earlier clash had begun when at least 450 Israeli settlers were attempting to storm the mosque during Eid prayers.
Known commonly as the Temple Mount groups, these extremist Zionist groups regularly call for a return of the Temple Mount, the ancient Jewish holy site, to replace the Muslim holy Al-Aqsa mosque which now stands in its place. The Temple Mount group have been calling for raids on the mosque during Eid prayers this past week, heightening tensions in an already unstable environment.
The Al-Aqsa mosque, known as the third holiest site in Islam, is the place where Muslims believed the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven as described in the holy Quran. As the site where the ancient temples of Judaism stood more than 2,000 years ago as well, the area has long been the focal point for high tensions between Zionists and Palestinian worshippers in recent years.
While Jewish and Muslim worshippers have long prayed and worshipped side by side, Israel’s encouragement of fundamentalist Zionism has increased the often bloody clashes that happen within and around the complex today, as seen in Sunday’s clash within the walls of the Al-Aqsa mosque.
