(Gaza) The leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinouar, warned on Saturday of the possibility of a “big battle” against Israel in the event of a new “aggression” by Israeli forces in the Al-Aqsa mosque. of Jerusalem.
Posted at 12:30 p.m.
Updated at 12:34 p.m.
In recent weeks, the Esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site and Judaism’s holiest site known as the Temple Mount, has been the scene of clashes.
Nearly 300 Palestinians were injured in this area where Al-Aqsa is located after anti-Israeli attacks and Israeli army operations in the occupied West Bank.
During these clashes, the Israeli police deployed on the esplanade and also once entered the Al-Aqsa mosque, throwing tear gas, which had prompted condemnation from Palestinians and Muslim countries.
Photo HAZEM BADER, Agence France-Presse
A member of the Israeli security forces leads the guard at a checkpoint on the way to the city of Jerusalem.
“Whoever makes the decision to repeat this will himself make the decision to destroy thousands of synagogues around the world,” Yahya Sinouar, head of Hamas’ political bureau in the blockaded Gaza Strip, said in a speech. Israeli.
“You will have to prepare for a big battle if the occupation (name given to Israel by Palestinians, editor’s note) does not stop attacking the Al-Aqsa mosque,” he added.
This rare speech was delivered on the anniversary, according to the Muslim calendar, of the 11-day war, in May 2021, between Israel and Hamas.
He also paid tribute to Iran, Israel’s main enemy, and the movements supported by the Islamic Republic, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Yemeni Houthi rebels.
In the event of “aggression” on the esplanade of the Mosques during “Jerusalem Day”, Hamas will launch more than a thousand rockets towards Israel, Mr. Sinouar further threatened.
Scheduled this year at the end of May, this event celebrated in Israel commemorates the capture of the Palestinian part of the Holy City in 1967.
Under a historic status quo, Muslims are allowed to pray on the plaza, located in the Palestinian part of Jerusalem annexed by Israel, while non-Muslims can go there at specific times, but not there. pray.
In recent years, the number of Jews visiting the esplanade has increased to reach a record high in April during Passover, the Jewish Passover.
Many Jewish worshipers are regularly spotted praying there despite the ban, sparking fears among Muslims that this historic status quo could be shattered.
The Jewish state “will not change” the historical status quo, assured last week the head of Israeli diplomacy Yair Lapid.
The Raam party, the first Arab formation in the history of Israel to support a government coalition, recently “suspended” its support because of the violence in Jerusalem.
On Saturday, Yahya Sinouar called on its leader, Mansour Abbas, to “leave” the coalition definitively.