Netanyahu reaffirms Al-Aqsa Mosque status quo before cabinet meeting
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The Israeli occupation's security cabinet, led by occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met to address rising tensions in the occupied West Bank amid increasing IOF and settler violence.
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Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Government Press office in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, September 4, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli occupation's security cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met Sunday to address key concerns, particularly the escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu opened the session with a focus on the growing state of Resistance across occupied Palestine, especially in the West Bank.
This comes as the genocidal war on Gaza continues, and Israeli occupation forces have expanded their operations in the West Bank, where 692 Palestinians have been killed as a result of settler attacks and IOF raids, with another 5,700 injured and thousands of others detained according to Palestinian sources report.
Netanyahu also emphasized that there will be no change to the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque and reiterated that government ministers need his approval before visiting the Mosque's compound.
It is worth noting that despite Islamic, Arab, and international criticism, Israeli occupation ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have stormed the compound on several occasions, uttering statements showing intent to subvert the status quo.
Israeli army killed US-Turkish activist amid no violence: eyewitnesses
Protests in the West Bank denouncing Israeli actions have been met with extreme violence by Israeli occupation forces.
Eyewitnesses have reported that 26-year-old American-Turkish human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest in the occupied West Bank town of Beita on Friday during a peaceful time, with no clashes or violent confrontations.
One of the fellow protesters recounted the moment leading up to Eygi's death, stating, "We were standing, visible to the army, just standing around not doing anything. Nothing was happening. I heard two shots." The witnesses, speaking to Haaretz, emphasized that there was no apparent provocation or reason for the shooting.
Eygi's death has sparked outrage and drew international condemnations. The Beita protest was part of ongoing demonstrations against the expansion of Israeli settlements and land seizures in the area.
Eygi arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) as part of a campaign to protect Palestinian farmers from settler and IOF violence.
It is worth noting that she would be the third ISM volunteer murdered by the IOF, after Rachel Corrie in 2004 and Tom Hurndall in 2005.
Read more: West Bank Resistance confronts IOF amid expanding military op.
