Under the protection of Israeli occupation police, Israeli settlers on Wednesday stormed the Old City of occupied al-Quds from the Bab al-Amoud area during the so-called "Jerusalem Day Flag March", which commemorates the Israeli army's occupation of the Palestinian city in 1967.

Palestinian citizens confronted the attacks in various neighborhoods of the Old City currently witnessing provocations by settlers, many of whom were armed. 

#شاهد | مستوطنون يقتحمون البلدة القديمة في #القدس_المحتلة من باب العمود خلال "مسيرة الأعلام الاستيطانية".#فلسطين_المحتلة#الميادين pic.twitter.com/4Og1pVH7dR

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) June 5, 2024

In coordination with the settlers, Israeli police blocked the streets of the Old City to the residents of al-Quds, citing the need to protect the "Flag March".

Settlers assaulted journalists and Palestinian citizens in Bab al-Amoud, forcing the journalists to leave the area. Additionally, the settlers hurled insults against Islam and Arabs.

#شاهد | مستوطنون يعتدون على صحافين في منطقة باب العمود بـ #القدس_المحتلة.#فلسطين_المحتلة #الميادين pic.twitter.com/pwg9EMzppr

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) June 5, 2024

Israeli media reported that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is taking part in the provocative march in occupied al-Quds.

3,000 Israeli police officers to protect settlers

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine highlighted that more than 1,200 Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds.

Our correspondent mentioned that the settlers assaulted Palestinian citizens and shop owners during their incursions into the Old City.

She further noted that more than 3,000 police officers were deployed to protect the settlers' incursions.

Israeli occupation forces forced shop owners in the Old City to shutter their shops, erecting iron barriers, deploying cavalry units, and even summoning a sewage water vehicle, effectively transforming Bab al-Amoud into a military barrack where Palestinians are suppressed and detained.

المستوطنون يؤدون رقصات استفزازية بحماية قوات الاحتلال خلال اقتحامهم #المسجد_الأقصى #الميادين #فلسطين pic.twitter.com/nrSOMmjHrU

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) June 5, 2024

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In this context, Abu Ahmad Fouad, the head of Arab and national relations in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), told Al Mayadeen that Israeli settlers aim to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds.

"Where are the popular movements in Arab and Islamic countries in support of Al-Aqsa Mosque against the settlers' actions?" the PFLP official added.

Similarly, Ihsan Ataya, a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, called for "intensifying popular resistance against the aggression on the al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied al-Quds."

He told Al Mayadeen that Tuesday's events in occupied al-Quds confirm "the savagery and criminality of the Israeli enemy," pointing out that "the American-Israeli project is a unified scheme aimed at annihilating the Palestinian cause and displacing the Palestinian people from their land."

The PIJ deemed what it called the "Zionist thuggery march" in al-Quds a "blatant assault on the Muslims' first Qibla (direction of prayer) and sacred sites."

"The Zionist Nazis believe that by attacking the al-Aqsa Mosque, they can compensate for some of the humiliation they are facing in the Gaza Strip," the group said in a press release.

Khalil al-Tafakji, an expert on settlement affairs, told Al Mayadeen that the so-called "Flag March" serves as a tool for "leveraging religion for political aims."

He added that the ongoing mobilization of settlers across occupied al-Quds is an "attempt to uplift morale" amid the challenges faced by the Israeli occupation forces, particularly in Gaza and northern occupied Palestine along the border with Lebanon.

On its part, Hamas condemned what it described as "the fascist Israeli government's" authorization of settlers to stage the so-called "Flag March" through the streets of occupied al-Quds under the full protection of the occupation police.

The movement considered that this confirms the "arrogance of this fascist government and the occupation's policy aimed at the Judaization of holy sites" and infringes on the sentiments of hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide.

Islamic authorities warn of escalating violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque

Islamic authorities in occupied al-Quds have also condemned the unprecedented assaults by Israeli settlers on the holy al-Aqsa Mosque while Israeli occupation forces continue to enforce a "tight security cordon preventing thousands of worshippers from reaching the Mosque."

In a statement, the authorities warned of the "grave consequences of escalating violations" against the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, pointing to a continuous series of assaults and incursions that could "potentially lead the entire world into an ominous religious war."

The statement denounced the gathering of Israeli settlers at the gates of the al-Aqsa Mosque, their attacks on nearby Palestinian citizens and their homes under the protection of Israeli police, and their dancing and running over Muslim graves in the Bab al-Rahma cemetery in a "hysterical scene devoid of any shame."

The Islamic authorities said that these violations underscore the Israeli occupation's "deliberate provocation of violence and crises" and its ongoing "disregard for Muslim sentiments" by preventing them from protecting their holy sites.

The statement warned that the Israeli violations "destabilize the historical, legal, and religious status quo at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque." This situation, the Islamic authorities emphasized, "necessitates sounding the alarm" and rallying Muslims to fulfill their duty toward their first Qibla.