Palestinian militant group Hamas has pledged resistance to any potential attack against the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem, the world's third-holiest site for Muslims.
"Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line, and any attack on it will face the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people, and they will not allow any fire to reach this mosque again," the Palestinian Information Center reported, citing Hamas' statement made on Saturday.
The statement reportedly said that "the arson attack on the Mosque in 1969 was the beginning of an extended scheme of Judaization, displacement and demolition practiced by the 'Zionist' government aimed at establishing its alleged temple in place of the holy Mosque."
The group also urged Arabs and Muslim people across the world to "defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque" and call on their governments to terminate all agreements signed with Israel.
A cameraman is helped by a Palestinian after falling on the ground during clashes with Israeli police at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, May 10, 2021.
© REUTERS / Ammar Awad
Clashes frequently occur between Palestinians and Israeli forces in East Jerusalem. In May, an Israeli court decided to evict several Palestinian families from a Jerusalem neighborhood, which triggered the public unrest that eventually escalated into 11 days of armed hostilities.
Palestinians hope to create their own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel, on the other hand, is hostile to the idea of restoring the previous borders and is even more opposed to the idea of sharing Jerusalem, which it considers its "eternal and indivisible" capital.