From The Daily Beast
Last night, a march of extremist Israeli settlers took over the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, filling the streets with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers enforcing a strictly “Jews only” policy on the streets of the Muslim Quarter that put the nearly 30,000 Palestinian residents of the Muslim Quarter under curfew until the march was over.
This follows a week of attacks of this nature on Al-Aqsa Mosque—the third most holy site in Islam just a few meters away from the Dome of the Rock, the iconic golden crowning glory of Jerusalem.. Under normal circumstances, though anyone can enter the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, only practicing Muslims are allowed to enter the inside of Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, in recent years extremist Israeli settlers—protected by IDF soldiers or Israeli police—have stormed the mosque, claiming that it should be destroyed so that the Third Temple can be erected in its place.
Recently, due to heightened tensions leading to violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank that many Israelis fear could lead to a Palestinian uprising, the attacks on the Al Aqsa Mosque compound have intensified.
The most recent string of attacks started on Sunday when an Israeli soldier threw a young Muslim Palestinian woman’s Qu’ran on the floor, trampling it until it was destroyed. A few days later on Wednesday, eight Israeli settlers accompanied by soldiers stormed the mosque, interrupting the worshippers during prayers and violently ripping off a woman’s hijab—a traditional head covering required for worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque. On Friday—International Women’s Day—dozens of Israeli policemen once again stormed the mosque as Palestinian worshippers gathered for noon prayers. According to Israeli Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli police entered the mosque when Palestinians who had seen them outside the mosque threw rocks and two firebombs at them. The police then responded with teargas and stun grenades, pushing women aside and injuring one journalist, turning what would have otherwise been peaceful Friday prayers into violent clashes.
