In a statement on Monday, Hamas condemned the violations which settlers declared their intents to commit at the Aqsa Mosque during their upcoming festival, describing their calls for celebrating the event at the Mosque as “a violation of all the heavenly religions and norms” and “a direct provocation to the Palestinian people and the Muslim nation.”

Hamas spokesman Mohamed Hamada held the Israeli occupation state fully responsible for any repercussions that could happen if it provided protection for settler break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque during the festival.

The spokesman urged the Palestinian masses in Jerusalem, the West Bank and 1948 occupied Palestine to march en masse to the Aqsa Mosque to protect it against settler desecration on Wednesday and Thursday.

In a related context, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Occupied Jerusalem, has called on Muslim worshipers to intensify their presence at the Aqsa Mosque during the days of the Purim festival to guard it against settler violations.

Sheikh Sabri denounced settler groups for inciting their followers to perform rituals and celebrations at the Aqsa Mosque during the coming days, affirming that such calls provoke the Muslim nation that rejects any violation of the Mosque’s sanctity.

He accused the Israeli government of supporting and allowing settler break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque and held it fully responsible for any tension that could happen if settlers defiled the Islamic holy site during the Purim festival. (ILKHA)