Israeli authorities have imposed severe restrictions on Palestinians, denying them access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during Friday prayers. This violation of human rights is seen as an oppressive and inhumane act, highlighting the need to address these continuous violations and seek justice.
An official said that only around 4,000 Palestinians, most of them elderly, had managed to reach the venerated mosque to perform Friday prayers due to the strict Israeli control of the streets.
Israeli forces have been heavily deployed across occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the entrances leading to the mosque.
Hundreds of Palestinians were forced to perform Friday prayers in the streets near the Old City area after being barred from entering the mosque itself.
10 killed in West Bank fighting; Blinken warns Tel Aviv to stop settler violence
In a tragic turn of events, a total of ten lives have been lost in the recent fighting that erupted in the West Bank. The situation is deeply concerning and demands immediate attention. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has sternly warned Tel Aviv to put an end to the ongoing settler violence. It is crucial that all parties involved exercise restraint and work towards de-escalation to prevent further loss of life and promote peace in the region.
The Israeli side gave no reasons for restricting Muslims’ access to Al-Aqsa for prayers.
Violence in the West Bank
The Israeli army has killed over half dozen people in the West Bank in the past couple of days, amid a dramatic rise in the number of violent incidents in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli forces carried out an operation overnight Thursday-Friday in a refugee camp in Jenin, claiming to have killed five people.
The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said three people had been killed in the Jenin raid and 15 wounded, four of them critically.
In the south, the ministry also said two people were killed “by Israeli army bullets” at the entrance to the flashpoint city of Hebron.
A day earlier, three Palestinians were killed at a checkpoint on a road between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem, while an Israeli soldier was killed and others wounded in a shootout.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank say they have faced increased harassment from Israeli settlers since the war began.
Warning on settler violence
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on Israel to take “urgent” action to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Blinken, who was in San Francisco for an Asia-Pacific summit, asked Benny Gantz, an opposition leader who joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet, for something during a phone call.
“State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken emphasized the immediate need to reduce tensions in the West Bank. This can be achieved by addressing the increasing incidents of extremist violence by settlers.”
On the war front, Blinken with Gantz “discussed efforts to augment and accelerate the transit of critical humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Miller said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern over the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties and emphasized the need for Israel to take all necessary measures to minimize them.
About The Author
Discover more from News Network Plus
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
