Hamas warns of synagogue attacks in case of new al-Aqsa raid

Palestinians shout slogans at the compound that houses al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, following clashes with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 15, 2022. (Reuters)

AFP
Published: 30 April ,2022

The Palestinian movement Hamas warned Saturday of attacks on synagogues if Israeli forces carry out another raid on the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque in annexed east Jerusalem.

“Whoever takes the decision to repeat this scene [of a deployment inside the mosque] will be taking the decision to destroy thousands of synagogues across the world,” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in the Gaza Strip, said in a speech.

Israeli police have over the past two weeks clashed repeatedly with Palestinian protesters at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, with footage showing them firing tear gas inside the mosque, sparking condemnation from across the Muslim world.

“You should be ready for a great battle if the [Israeli] occupation does not stop attacking al-Aqsa mosque,” said Sinwar.

He said Hamas would fire off hundreds of rockets at Israel in case of an act of “aggression” on al-Aqsa at the end of May, when Israel marks its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Violence in east Jerusalem has raised fears of another armed conflict similar to an 11-day war last year between Israel and Hamas, triggered in part by similar unrest at al-Aqsa.

The latest al-Aqsa violence brought to nearly 300 the number of Palestinians wounded in clashes at the site.

The al-Aqsa compound is the holiest place in Judaism, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and the third-holiest in Islam.

Palestinian Muslims have been angered by an uptick in Jewish visits to the compound, where by long-standing convention Jews may visit but are not allowed to pray.