Hamas warned yesterday that the Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque would have "harsh consequences," Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported. In an official statement, Hamas said: "The dangerous Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque reached the degree of setting fire to the southern prayer area, firing bullets at worshipers and the desecration of the holy site by Jewish settlers, including ministers." The movement warned that the Israeli occupation would face difficulties if such violations continued. "These dangerous violations will have difficult consequences," the statement said, calling on the international community to stop Israel's desecration of the mosque before it is too late. Hamas also called for the Arab, Islamist governments and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to come out of the state of silence and bear their responsibilities towards Al-Aqsa. It called for the PA to stop its security cooperation with the Israeli occupation in order to allow the Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank to take on its role in defending Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the repeated Israeli attempts to storm Al-Aqsa and attack Muslim worshipers would have "dangerous consequences". It stressed that increasing Israeli violations against the holy city and the attempts of the Israeli occupation to partition the mosque are proofs that the occupation is escalating tensions with the Palestinians. It, therefore, called for the Palestinians to consider next Friday a special day to defend Al-Aqsa by taking to the streets in massive marches that condemn what is going on at the mosque.
