TEHRAN - On Sunday, hundreds of Israeli settlers in separate groups stormed Islam's third holiest site, al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) under heavy protection from the occupation forces, desecrating the mosque's courtyards. 

Meanwhile, the regime's forces have violently attacked Palestinians and imposed restrictions on Muslims trying to enter their holy site. 

The latest Israeli provocation comes under the pretext of the beginning of the occasion of the Jewish New Year, but has been met with a warning by the Hamas organization in the besieged Gaza Strip that "the Palestinian nation will never abandon al-Aqsa Mosque in the face of Zionist occupiers’ aggressions and onslaughts."

In one video circulating on social media and verified by several media outlets, the occupation forces can be seen physically assaulting Muslim women who are responsible for inspecting female Palestinian worshippers who enter the mosque's courtyards. 

As preparations for the Jewish New Year were underway, Israeli police had turned occupied al-Quds into a military garrison.

Thousands of Israeli troops and special units had been deployed in the city, with iron barriers set up at the entrances to al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City.

The settlers took provocative action in the courtyards of al-Aqsa against the Muslim worshipers and those inside the mosque, including Talmudic rituals near the Dome of the Rock.

Activists on social media have posted video clips of the moments that the settlers stormed the mosque, pointing out that the raids were led by the American-born and former Knesset member Yehuda Glick.

Reports from local media say that the occupation forces had imposed strict measures around the al-Aqsa Mosque, obstructing worshipers’ access to it and the entry of Palestinians and school students into its courtyards, and conducted checks on their identities and school bags.

Local reporters have said that the Israeli forces were deployed en masse in the neighborhoods and towns around the holy city, to impose a siege on al-Quds and prevent the entry of Palestinians under the age of 50 from entering. 

Israel fears that young men entering the occupied holy site would confront the Israeli settlers and the regime’s forces escorting the settlers, which can lead to violent clashes and trigger another war. 

This is something the regime cannot afford at the moment, with so many internal crises facing the occupation. The last thing Israel needs is another armed conflict with the Palestinian resistance. 

In essence, events and tensions could escalate dramatically to the point that the heavily armed resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip and the newly emerged resistance in the occupied West Bank would be forced to go to war with the regime, to save the al-Aqsa Mosque from being desecrated further. 

The regime itself is facing a dilemma with thousands of its reservists in all ranks of the Israeli army reportedly failing to call up for duty in protest at measures taken by the extremist cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

According to the Islamic Religious Endowments Organization (WAQF) in al-Quds, which manages the holy site, Israeli forces were also said to have been working on emptying the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque from Muslim worshipers. And according to local sources, dozens of Palestinian Muslims have been removed from the site to allow for the settlers’ latest provocation. 

The Israeli occupation forces also violently attacked the worshippers protesting against the presence of the settlers and arrested at least two young men from the al-Aqsa Mosque's courtyards and transferred them to an unknown destination. The identities of those arrested remain unknown.

The repressive measures by the regime coincide with the start of the Jewish holidays, where the occupation forces intend to facilitate the settlers’ access to the courtyards of the mosque and obstruct and prevent Muslims from entering it.

Activists in al-Quds, together with activists who were excluded from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque, called for the mobilization of Palestinians to travel in the direction of al-Aqsa and confront the settlers’ incursions. 

In a press statement, WAQF said that since the early hours of Sunday, Israeli forces have provocatively allowed a large number of settlers to enter the courtyards of the mosque. 

This latest incident adds to the ongoing tensions surrounding the al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli settlers have been violating the status quo of the religious site. 

In a wider context, it is seen as a blasphemous offense by Israel against the sentiments of Muslims worldwide, who do not even recognize the status quo or the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, but rather an attempt by the Israeli regime to Judaize Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. 

In the past, the level of violence by Israeli forces against worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque was met with the firing of volleys of missiles by the Palestinian resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip, which targeted vital Israeli infrastructure. 

The deputy director-general of Islamic endowments in occupied al-Quds, Najeh Bakirat, has issued an appeal to the Muslim world, urging immediate action to end the siege on the holy al-Aqsa Mosque and the old city of al-Quds.

He also called for the protection of these sacred sites from the occupation regime’s plans during the Jewish holidays.

Bakirat emphasized that “the al-Aqsa Mosque is enduring an open and deliberate war."

"We are faced with a significant dilemma, an uneven battle where the Israeli occupation possesses the weapons, the army, the authority, and all the elements of oppression and tyranny," Bakirat pointed out.

He further added, “We are resisting against extremist Israeli institutions, whether inside or outside the city, that have come together to fight us, break our will, and weaken our strength, scattering our efforts.”

Over the past decade, Israel has been trying to transfer Jewish holidays to al-Aqsa and the old city, which is so holy to Muslims in a clear sign of the racist and blasphemous attitude of the regime toward Islam. 

Furthermore, the regime has been trying to slowly but surely Judaize an entirely Islamic site. 

So far, only the bullets and missiles of the resistance movement have prevented this grave crime from occurring. 

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the resistance group Hamas, Mohammad Hamadeh, said that "the Palestinian nation will never abandon the al-Aqsa Mosque in the face of Zionist occupiers’ aggressions and onslaughts".

"The Zionist enemy will not be able to change the status quo and the current equations regarding the holy site. The resistance will continue until the destruction of the Zionist regime," he underlined.

The spokesperson also said the regime’s continued aggression against the mosque is another attempt to conceal its previous defeats against the Palestinian resistance.