Scores of Israeli settlers break into Al-Asqa Mosque

Occupied Al-Quds, (ST) – Scores of Israeli settler fanatics guarded by police today broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem), according to witnesses.

Local sources told WAFA that scores of Israeli settlers entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate in groups and performed rituals and Talmudic prayers there under the protection of Israeli occupation police officers.

Since 2003, the Israeli occupation authorities have been allowing settlers into the compound almost on a daily basis, with the exclusion of Friday, the Muslim day of rest and worship.

The Islamic Waqf has repeatedly described the settlers’ presence in Al-Aqsa Mosque as provocative, saying that Palestinian worshippers and guards at Al-Aqsa feel uncomfortable with the presence of Israeli occupation police and settlers touring the Islamic holy site.

Israel captured East Al-Quds (Jerusalem), where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Six-Day War in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Israeli occupation authorities demolish a café in Majd al-Kurum

On the other hand, the Israeli occupation authorities today demolished a café and restaurant in the town of Majd al-Kurum, in the Galilee region, under the pretext of construction without a permit, local sources said.

Israeli police, accompanied by bulldozers, broke into the town late last night and demolished the café and restaurant without allowing its owner, Mohammad Shakib Mannaa, to evacuate the furniture and equipment inside.

During the demolition, the Israeli police cordoned off the area of the demolition and denied access to the local residents there.

Houses and structures in Arab cities and towns in Israel are a frequent target for demolitions as Israeli authorities make it very difficult for Arab citizens to obtain building permits.

Currently, hundreds of Palestinian-owned homes in Israel are scheduled for demolition, with many saying the far-right government is selectively carrying out demolitions in Israel’s indigenous Arab communities while offering Israeli settlers free access to housing and expansion.

Arabs in today’s Israel are Palestinians who stayed on their land following the creation of the occupying state in 1948 and their descendants. They make up about 20 percent of the country’s nine million people.

By law, their rights are equal to those of Jewish citizens. But in practice they suffer discrimination in employment, housing, policing and other essentials.

Israeli occupation navy attacks Palestinian fishermen off Gaza

In another development in Gaza, the Israeli occupation’s navy today assaulted Palestinian fishermen with water cannons and gunfire while sailing off the northern shores of the Gaza Strip, forcing them to return to the shore, according to local sources.

WAFA correspondent said the Israeli occupation navy fired live bullets and launched high-velocity streams of water towards fishermen sailing approximately six nautical miles away from the shore, forcing them to stop fishing and return to the shore. No injuries were reported.

The Israeli navy has long been harassing fishermen in Gaza, shooting at them, damaging their boats and arresting some of them at times. On some occasions, fishermen were injured or even killed during gunfire attacks by the Israeli navy.

In addition to attacking fishermen, Israel regularly bans boats from accessing the water and reduces the fishing zone which Palestinians from Gaza can access.

The Israeli naval authorities have been enforcing a naval blockade on Gaza’s 40-kilometer-long coast since 2007.

The blockade has restricted fishing for the 3,700 registered fishermen in Gaza – the majority of whom live below the poverty line by shrinking the fishing zone from 25 nautical miles, down to only six to nine nautical miles, according to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

Sorurce: Wafa News Agency

Raghda Sawas