OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS
\nIsraeli troops raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, after a 10-day cooling of tensions at the holy site, Israeli police said.
\nThe Israeli police said they had repelled \u201cdozens of rioters\u201d who had been \u201cthrowing stones and other objects\u201d at the security forces. An AFP correspondent said there was a large police presence in front of the mosque, while the Palestinian Red Crescent had yet to report any casualties from the violence.
\nThe brutal raid came on the anniversary of Israel\u2019s illegal occupation of Palestine in 1948, which followed a tense period in which the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan, the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter overlapped.
\nSince mid-April, Israeli police have wounded nearly 300 Palestinians at the flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Palestinians have been angered by an uptick in Jewish visits to the compound, where by long-standing convention Jews may visit but are not allowed to pray.
\nIsraeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has said the Jewish state \u201cwill not change\u201d this status quo. Last week, Hamas threatened Israel with rockets and attacks if Israeli forces carried out further raids on the site. \u201cYou should be ready for a great battle if the (Israeli) occupation does not stop attacking al-Aqsa Mosque,\u201d said Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS Israeli troops raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, after a 10-day cooling of tensions at the holy site, Israeli police said. The Israeli police said they had repelled \u201cdozens of rioters\u201d who had been \u201cthrowing stones and other objects\u201d at the security forces. An AFP correspondent said there was a large police presence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-258973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n