Ramallah: Following outrage over Israeli security forces allowing 800 settlers to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Israeli government has issued a notice prohibiting non-Muslims from entering the mosque compound until the end of Ramadan.
The permission granted by the Israeli security forces on Tuesday morning, the sixth day of the Passover holiday, was in violation of a longstanding agreement that prohibits such activity during the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month.
It is uncertain whether the radical settler movement in Israel will comply with the Al-Aqsa policy, as they are becoming more empowered. Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right police minister and a leader of the movement, has denounced the ban, despite his criminal record for supporting terrorism and incitement to racism.
On the other hand, Sheikh Ekrima Said Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, and the current preacher at Al-Aqsa see the ban as an extreme violation and provocation that aims to show Israel's control over the mosque.
In the meantime, violence continued on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank as the Israeli army killed two Palestinians and injured another in Deir Al-Hatab, east of Nablus, during an ambush near the Elon Moreh settlement.
Palestinian sources have identified the deceased as Saud Al-Titi and Mohammed Abu Dira, both former prisoners and members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party.