Israelis attack Palestinians at holy Al-Aqsa compound

Extremist Israelis attacked Palestinians at the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. Israelis entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and an office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Monday (May 26) to mark Jerusalem Day.

On Tuesday (May 27), Reuters reported that some extremist Israelis chanted slogans such as “Death to the Arabs” and “May your villages burn” as they marched through a Muslim-majority area of ​​East Jerusalem.

The march was attended by Israel’s far-right nationalist Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir and several senior members of the Israeli government.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967. The city has been under Israeli control since then. Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day on May 26, an annual holiday. A march is held every year to mark the day.

A witness told Reuters that Israelis began violence in the Old City of East Jerusalem shortly after noon local time. The protesters also attacked Muslim-majority shops and harassed Palestinians.

The report said a group of young settlers spat on a Palestinian woman and a journalist. Israeli police were nearby but did not appear to take any action.

Israeli police did not comment when contacted. There were no reports of any arrests in the attack.

The settlers live in settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are illegal under international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Monday that “we will keep Jerusalem united and under Israeli sovereignty.”

Nabil Abu Rudaynah, a spokesman for the Palestinian presidency in the West Bank, condemned the Israeli march and Ben Gvir’s visit to Al-Aqsa.

In a statement, the spokesman said that Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, “repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and provocative actions such as the Israeli flag march in occupied Jerusalem pose a threat to the stability of the entire region.”