By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian Authority on Sunday laid the blame on Israel for the consequences of the current tension at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
"We hold the Israeli government responsible for this escalation," authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement carried by state news agency Wafa.
Tension has mounted across the Palestinian territories since Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard on Friday amid clashes with worshippers, injuring hundreds.
On Sunday, more than 700 Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa complex under heavy police protection to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday, which started on Friday.
"We call on the US administration to break its silence and stop this aggression that will inflame the entire region," Abu Rudeineh warned.
The spokesman went on to call on Palestinians to move to Al-Aqsa Mosque “to thwart this dangerous Israeli escalation.”
“The Palestinians will not accept, at any cost, this temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he added.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also condemned the Israeli escalation at the flashpoint site.
A ministry statement said the Israeli escalation flouted an Arab and Islamic backlash and was “a continuation of (Israeli) plans to Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Early Sunday, Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, blamed Israel for the ongoing tension at the mosque.
"Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line and the [Israeli] occupation is responsible for the consequences of its assaults on worshippers," Hamas said in a statement.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed settlers into the compound almost daily.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar