GAZA CITY
The Palestinian faction Hamas on Saturday downplayed a previous invitation by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for Palestinians to stay at Al-Aqsa Mosque to defend it against Israeli violations.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zurhi described the Palestinian Authority President's invitation as "untruthful."
On Friday, Abbas called on Palestinians to stay at the mosque to defend it against the background of Israeli violations in it.
Addressing attendees at the second congress of his Fatah movement, Abbas added that all Palestinians needed to stay at the mosque to defend it against Israel's violations.
Tensions continue to linger between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority President, even as the Gaza-based movement signed a reconciliation deal with Abbas' Fatah movement in April to end years of division between them.
Abu Zuhri said Abbas' invitation for defending Al-Aqsa contradicted the practices of Palestinian security agencies, saying these agencies "suppress" Palestinians who defend Al-Aqsa Mosque on the streets of the occupied West Bank.
"Palestinian Authority agencies also continue to make the resistance hand-tied and prevent it from carrying out its duty of defending Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque," Abu Zuhri said in a press release.
Palestinian policemen on Friday dispersed Hamas-organized protests in some of the cities of the West Bank against Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, eyewitnesses said.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli leader Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
By Ola Attalah
www.aa.com.tr/en
