RAMALLAH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Authority (PA) slammed on Thursday the walk in of hundreds of settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem early in the day, accusing Israel of attempting to impose a new reality of time and space zoning of the Islamic holy site.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Jewish people refer to it as the Temple Mount, while it is considered the third holiest site for Muslims.
Palestinian Minister of Wakfs and Islamic Affairs Yousef Ide'is told Xinhua that Israel is exploiting of the Jewish holidays to "impose a new reality on the ground by escalating incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque."
Ide'is said "this is part of a scheme to impose time and space zoning of Al-Aqsa Mosque and judaizing it, which requires immediate international intervention."
Ide'is urged Muslims and Arab countries to protect the holy site "because it is related to the faith of one billion Muslims, not just the Palestinians."
According to the information and PR director for Al-Aqsa Mosque, Firas Al-Dibs, nearly 1,000 settlers stormed into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier Thursday on the fourth day of Jewish Sukkot holiday.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israel has imposed tightened security measures in East Jerusalem ahead of a "central Jerusalem rally" by Israelis, annually held on the same occasion.
Palestinians want the eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital of their future Palestinian state, while Israel insists that unified Jerusalem be its eternal capital.
Israel occupied the eastern part of the holy city in 1967, a move that was never recognized by the international community.
On Dec. 6, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel and moved his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.
The steps infuriated Palestinians and lead to severing ties between the U.S. and the PA.
