Press TV - Dozens of Israeli settlershave stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Israeli-occupied Old City of East Jerusalem al-Quds amid frequent acts of violence committed by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people.
Media coordinator at the IslamicEndowmentDepartmentFiras al-Dabstold Arabic-language Safa news agency that a total of 52 settlers forced their way into the holy site through the Bab al-Magharibah under tightprotection of several groups of Israeli soldiers.
The settlers performed acts deemed provocative by Palestinians in the mosque courtyard, were given explanations about Solomon's Temple also known as theFirst Temple.
The Israeli settlers and extremists then converged near the Golden Gate, also known as the Gate of Mercy, on the eastern flank of the mosque and readTalmudverses out loud.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since US President Donald Trump announced his decisionon December 6 last year to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israels capital and relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.
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Mourners carry the body of Ahmad Abu Obeid during his funeral in Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, on February 4, 2018. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]The dramatic shift in Washingtons policy vis--vis the city triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Moroccoand other Muslim countries.
On December 21, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution that calls on the US to withdraw its controversial recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israeli capital.
In an attempt to avert the resolution, Trump had warned that were watching, threatening reprisals against countries that backed the measure, which had earlier faced a US veto at the UN Security Council.
Israel, however, rejected the world bodys resolution while thanking Trump for his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.
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Israeli soldiers take cover as they advance through the Palestinian village of Burqa, about 18 kilometers northwest of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, during an operation on February 3, 2018. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]On January 18, the United States reneged on a pledge to contribute $45 million to theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East(UNRWA), which supports more than 5million registeredPalestinian refugees and their descendants.
The announcement to cut aid to Palestinian refugees came after the US president made a threatto cut off aid to the UNs Palestinian refugee agency.
In a series oftweetson January 2, Trump said that the US paidthe Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars a year and yet gets no appreciation or respect.
But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? he asked.
