Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque appeals for help amid Israeli attacks

JERUSALEM

The director of East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque appealed via loudspeakers for help from the Islamic world amid Israeli police incursion into the holy site.

Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani said the Al-Aqsa Mosque is coming under Israeli attack.

"Extremist Jews will not enter Haram al-Sharif (the main building of Al-Aqsa) before trampling on our bodies," he stressed.

Stating that the Israeli police violated the sanctity of Haram al-Sharif, he addressed the Islamic world, "Where is your honor?"

Israeli police on Monday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and attacked the Palestinians who were on guard to prevent raids by extremist Jews.

Medical sources told Anadolu Agency that hundreds of people were injured during the Israeli incursion and 50 of them were taken to hospitals.

Extremist Jews decided to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the anniversary of the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, as "Jerusalem Day" according to the Hebrew calendar.

Extremist Jewish organizations had called for raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday and Monday to mark the day.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.