Israeli Occupation Plans to Storm al-Aqsa on Eid al-Adha

Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
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Israeli Occupation Plans to Storm al-Aqsa on Eid al-Adha

Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)

Jewish extremist and settler groups plan to storm the al-Aqsa mosque compound under the protection of occupation forces on the first day of Eid al-Adha which also marks the anniversary of the so called “Tisha Bav,” warned President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser for religious affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash.

He stressed that the whole world should work to prevent this crime before it is too late, noting that such move could trigger religious strife in the region and have dangerous consequences.

Habbash asserted that the Palestinian people will protect al-Aqsa Mosque and its sanctity.

He called on all the Palestinian people who are able to reach al-Aqsa to attend Eid prayers and support Jerusalemites in protecting and defending the Mosque, stressing that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Abbas, is following up the developments with concern.

“We will do everything possible, together with our people, to protect al-Aqsa Mosque,” he asserted.

Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Sheikh Mohammed Hussein announced that Eid al-Adha prayers at the Mosque will be at 7:30 am instead of 6:30, after the threats of occupation forces and settlers to storm the compound.

In his Friday sermon at the Mosque, Hussein urged all Palestinians to come to the Mosque on the first day of Eid, stressing that al-Aqsa is for Muslims only and that it is not subject to negotiations or bargaining.

In a joint statement signed by the Islamic Supreme Council, Council of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, and Hussein, Palestinian officials announced that all mosques in Jerusalem will be closed and that Eid prayers will take place in al-Aqsa.

Fatah movement urged the people to participate in the prayers at al-Aqsa, emphasizing its important status.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians performed Friday prayers outdoors in a sit-in tent in Wadi al-Hummus, in occupied East Jerusalem, to protest Israel's demolition of several homes last month.

On July 22, Israel demolished 16 Palestinian-owned buildings in Sur Baher and displaced dozens of Palestinians in the process. The demolition sparked wide scale condemnation from Arab and other states.

Most of the demolished lands of Sur Baher are categorized within Area A under Palestinian sovereignty, according to the Oslo Agreement.



Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

Israel’s military ordered the evacuation Saturday of a crowded part of Gaza designated as a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants in Khan Younis, including parts of Muwasi, a makeshift tent camp where thousands are seeking refuge.

The order comes in response to rocket fire that Israel says originates from the area. It's the second evacuation issued in a week in an area designated for Palestinians fleeing other parts of Gaza. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel's punishing air and ground campaign.

On Monday, after the evacuation order, multiple Israeli airstrikes hit around Khan Younis, killing at least 70 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, citing figures from Nasser Hospital.

The area is part of a 60-square-kilometer (roughly 20-square-mile) “humanitarian zone” to which Israel has been telling Palestinians to flee to throughout the war. Much of the area is blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israel's estimates. That's more than half Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.

The war began with an assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. About 115 are still in Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.