Israeli police violently attack Palestinians at Aqsa Mosque

Violent clashes broke out on Wednesday morning at the Aqsa Mosque after special police forces stormed the holy place and embarked on attacking Palestinian worshipers in order to secure the entry of a large number of Jewish settlers to celebrate the biblical Sukkot holiday.

According to the Mosque’s guards, the Israeli police tightened security at all entrances and gates leading to the Islamic holy place, especially at Al-Maghariba Gate, and at around 7:30 in the morning, its forces suddenly invaded its courtyards and started to attack the Muslim worshipers, mostly elders, with flashbang grenades and rubber bullets

The guards added that the police forces launched baton charges to evacuate the Mosque’s courtyards from all Muslim worshipers and spread out over the place to control it, noting that a number of Palestinians suffered injuries in the attack.

The guards affirmed that the confrontations are still ongoing near the old Aqsa Mosque area between police troops and Palestinian young men, who were able to stage I’tikaaf (a religious retreat) inside the Mosque building for a few days in order to protect it against Jewish desecration break-ins.

Since the early morning hours of today, the Israeli police have been imposing a tight military siege on the areas around the Aqsa Mosque and preventing all Palestinian women and young girls from entering it.

The police have also barred all Palestinian men under age 60 from praying inside the Aqsa Mosque compound and deployed huge numbers of its special forces at its gates and around its walls.

The employees and officials of the Islamic Waqf authority, the body responsible for managing the Aqsa Mosque’s affairs, have also been denied entry to the holy place.

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