(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) said yesterday legal measures would be taken to prevent Jewish settlers from attacking Jerusalem's flashpoint Al Aqsa mosque compound, having said their presence desecrates the site. His remarks follow a recent spate of clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli police, which erupted when Jews were to visit the complex.
Muslims fear Jewish presence on Al Aqsa is aimed at usurping the site. "The Palestinian leadership will be taking the necessary legal measures, at the international level, regarding the aggression of settlers on the Al Aqsa mosque," Abbas said in a speech to the Revolutionary Council of his Fatah party.
"We will not allow settlers to attack the mosque," he added, referring to the entire compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam. Non-Muslim visits to
Al Aqsa complex are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site for fear it could trigger major disturbances, nor do they enter the mosques there. Jews pray instead at the Western Wall below.
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