Yesterday, Israeli occupying forces broke into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in preparation for the collective incursions of settlers called for by alleged “temple groups” into the courtyards of the Temple Mount on the occasion of the Jewish Passover. .
According to local sources and eyewitnesses in Jerusalem, the occupying police stationed themselves in the courtyards of the Haram and proceeded to remove the praying and retreating settlers from the incursions into the courtyards of the Temple Mount.
The sources added that the occupying forces surrounded the worshipers in the al-Aqsa chapels after they closed and prevented them from being in the areas of Al-Musalla Al-Kibli and the Dome of the Rock.
The settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the direction of the Mughrabi Gate in groups, carried out provocative detours and performed Talmudic rites in the courtyards under the strict guard of the occupying police.
The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, met at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah with the United Nations Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Thor Wencesland, and presented him with a written message to the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres. .
The Palestinian news agency said the president placed a UN envoy in the form of brutal attacks by Israeli occupying forces and extremist settler groups that storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque daily, in flagrant violation of a historical and legal situation that highlights the need to coordinate non-Muslim foreign visitors through Islamic foundations.
The President indicated that hundreds of Palestinians had been injured and arrested in these attacks, emphasizing the complete rejection of any change in the historical status quo.
In turn, Wencesland confirmed that the UN Secretary General will continue his contacts to stop the escalation, noting that the UN Security Council will hold an open meeting on the situation in Palestine next Monday, April 25.
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held separate telephone conversations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, urging them to “break the cycle of violence” following an escalation in recent weeks.
At the same time, the US State Department announced that Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Yael Lambert would visit Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt for talks aimed at “easing tensions” in the region.
The US State Department said in a statement that Blinken, in two calls with Abbas and Yair, stressed “the importance of Palestinians and Israelis working together to end the cycle of violence,” the US State Department said.
The US Secretary of State also called on both sides to “deter” and “refrain from any action or statement that leads to an escalation of tension,” including in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.
In a conversation with the Palestinian President, he reaffirmed “the commitment of the United States to significantly improve the quality of life of the Palestinian people.”
Speaking with both sides, Blinken called for “an agreed (leading to) two-state solution”, living side by side despite the deadlocked peace process.