The Palestinians continue to write the epics of steadfastness and heroism in the face of the occupation and defending Al-Aqsa

Occupied Jerusalem (ST): The Palestinians continue to write epics of steadfastness and immortal heroism day after day in the face of the Israeli occupation and its increasing terrorism during the past days, as its forces and settlers make daily incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the cities and towns of the West Bank, killing dozens and arresting hundreds of the Palestinian people, while the international community continues its silence towards these crimes and does nothing to stop them.

27 martyrs, hundreds of injured and 1,700 Palestinian detainees are the outcome of the escalating occupation’s terrorism since mid-March. Despite this, it did not succeed in breaking the will of the Palestinians, who continue their steadfastness in the face of the occupation and in confronting the extremist settlers who intensified their storming operations at Al-Aqsa Mosque amid calls to carry out provocative and massive incursions into its courtyards during the coming days.

Thousands of Palestinians flocked at dawn today to Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers to thwart the settlers’ plan to storm Al-Aqsa.  At about eight o’clockin the morning, the occupation forces renewed their storming of Al-Aqsa and assaulted those stationed in the Al-Qibli prayer hall with bullets and poisonous gas bombs, which led to dozens of injuries, bringing the number of injured to 157, while they arrested 40 people, bringing the number of detainees from the mosque and its surroundings to 400 Palestinians.

The occupation forces forced the Palestinians to evacuate the mosque and turned it into a military barracks by deploying large numbers in its courtyards and at its entrances. They also intensified their deployment in the Old City of Jerusalem and impeded the arrival of ambulances to the mosque. They also closed the entrances leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque and erected iron barricades in the Bab al-Amoud area to prevent Palestinians from flocking to it. It also expelled the press crews to prevent them from documenting its heinous crimes.

The Palestinian presidency and foreign ministry called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the continuous Israeli occupation aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that the Palestinian people will not allow the occupation forces and settlers to invade the mosque and will defend it at all costs.

For his part, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Al-Hadmi stated that the occupation’s aggression against Al-Aqsa is a clear violation of international legitimacy resolutions that stress the need to preserve the historic status quo in the mosque, calling for international protection for the Palestinian people from the oppression of the occupation.

In a statement to news reporter, Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that the occupation is committing war crimes against the Palestinian people, encouraged by the silence and impunity of the international community, stressing that the Palestinians in the occupied territories in 1948, the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip are engaging in a comprehensive resistance against the occupation to bring down all its colonial plans, pointing out that the Palestinian government is conducting intensive contacts with all international parties to stop the aggression and protect Al-Aqsa.

K.Q.