The Palestinian nation will need no permission from (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Hamas said in the statement, stressing that it is the Palestinians’ sacred right to say prayers in the mosque and that they will “pay any price” to safeguard that right.
The statement also derided the deal between Israel and Jordan as “hilarious and hollow”, noting that such measure are attempts to save Netanyahu from a crisis brought by his racist policies.
It came after the US announced that Israel and Jordan have agreed on steps, including 24-hour video surveillance, to try and help end weeks of violence over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Speaking in Amman after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Israel had embraced “an excellent suggestion” by the king for round-the-clock monitoring of the mosque.
Protests against Israel’s ongoing occupation broke out last month amid growing unrest triggered by Israeli incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and have continued across the Occupied Palestine
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in what is seen as the third Intifada.