Israel wages ‘systematic religious war’ against Palestine

Approximately 1,500 Israeli settlers and police on Sunday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Yehuda Glick, a far-right Israeli Knesset (Parliament) member, who campaigns for Jewish access to al-Aqsa Mosque, was seen in the compound where many of the Israeli settlers performed Jewish religious rituals.

Tensions rose between the Israeli settlers and Muslim tradesmen in the area. Additionally, Israeli soldiers arrested a Palestinian boy for raising the Palestinian flag inside the Noble Sanctuary.

Hamas Political Bureau vice-president Salih al-Arui described the event as the initial result of Israel’s Nation-State law, adding that a new era of attacks targeting Jerusalem had begun.

On Thursday, Knesset passed a controversial law that recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people.”

“Storming and desecrating al-Aqsa Mosque by large groups of Zionists comes within the framework of the systematic religious war waged by the extremist Israeli government backed by the U.S. administration against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, as it also aims at targeting the Palestinians’ existence and their national and Islamic identity,” said Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum in a press release released on their website on Sunday.

“Hamas strongly condemns such policies and practices and urges the Islamic and Arab nations to take quick action at all levels to stand up for Al-Aqsa Mosque and protect the Muslim holy site from being desecrated and Judaized. There remains no justifications for remaining silent on this dangerous issue,” the statement added.

The number of Israeli settlers who raided al-Aqsa Mosque compound has increased compared to the previous year. The Israeli "Yara" association, which supports raids of the holy site, recently published a report claiming that the number of Israeli settlers who raided the compound last year was 22,200, while in the first six months that figure reached 22,206.

Israeli Druze members of the Knesset announced that they will lodge an appeal against a recent law recognizing Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people.”

Three Druze lawmakers on Sunday joined a number of Druze groups in filing the first High Court of Justice petition against the Nation-State law. Akram Hasoon (Kulanu), Saleh Saad (Zionist Union) and Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beiteinu) led the petitioners challenging the divisive law.

“I have no problem with the Jews and the fact that Israel is the state of the Jews. What about the Druze, who sacrificed and fought for Israel's sake, 240 of whom were killed and more than 1,200 injured during their service in the army?” MK Akram Hasson from Kulanu Party told Maariv daily on Sunday.

The Druze lawmakers argue that the Nation-State law violates basic rights such as the right to equality, and deems that non-Jewish minorities have no status in Israel.

Following the mass raid, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the incident. In a statement released later on Sunday, the ministry expressed that the escalation was part of an Israeli plot to Judaize Jerusalem, establish the division of al-Aqsa Mosque, and attract more settlers to participate in the raids regularly with the aim of changing the legal and historical status quo in the holy site. The statement called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to act immediately.

The legislation further states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”

It was approved by a vote of 62-55 in a tumultuous assembly session in which Arab lawmakers decried what they called “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel.”

Turkey has denounced the legislation for trying to strip Palestinians of their rights.

Using tanks, warplanes, and artillery fire, on Friday the Israeli army launched a major attack on the Gaza Strip. The attack came a day after the Nation-State law was approved. A written Israeli army statement said the army launched a large-scale assault targeting military points allegedly belonging to Hamas.