Israeli forces bar Palestinian worshippers' access to al-Quds, clashes continue
Clashes are intensified in Jerusalem al Quds as Israeli forces have continued preventing Palestinian worshipers from entering al Quds Mosque.
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The scuffles erupted on Monday night after the Palestinians removed the barricades set up around the Bab al-Amoud (Damascus) Gate, leading to four arrests, the Ma’an news agency reported.
The protesters waved Palestinian national flags and chanted slogans such as “in spirit and blood we will redeem Palestine” and “thousands of martyrs are on their way to al-Aqsa.”
Two more Palestinians were taken into Israeli custody during clashes in al-Quds’ at-Tur neighborhood, the report added.
Isawiya neighborhood also witnessed confrontations, with the protesters throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers.
Additionally on Monday night, Israeli sources said a mortar shell was fired from the Gaza Strip towards a settlement in the occupied territories, without sounding alert sirens.
It followed the firing of more than 40 rockets from the Israeli-blockaded coastal sliver into the occupied lands.
Two Palestinian resistance factions, Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Abu Ali Brigades, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and warplanes targeted Gaza while the regime’s military beefed up its presence along the border fence and closed the fishing zone of the besieged enclave.
Hamas resistance movement said, “Israel will bear the consequences” of closing Gaza fishing zone.
“The closure of the Gaza Strip to fishermen is a blatant violation of their rights and constitutes a form of ongoing aggression against our people. Israel’s aggressive policy toward the Palestinian people will not break its steadfast spirit or weaken its fist or limit its determination,” it said.
“We will not accept restrictive measures and pressure on the Palestinian people, and Israel will bear the consequences of its aggressive behavior.”
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel’s bombing of Gaza as well as the recent al-Quds clashes are “part of its comprehensive aggressive policies against our people,” adding, “What the Palestinian resistance is doing in response to this aggression is within the framework of carrying out its national duty to protect and defend the interests of our people.”
Also on Monday, Israel authorized a harsher military response if rocket fire from the Gaza Strip persists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and minister of military affairs Benny Gantz were also allowed to order a Gaza strike in case of an escalation of tensions.
