Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat Thursday denounced a decision of Israeli police to allow extremist Jews to enter the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem, the third-holiest site in Islam, and a mosque that some extremist Jews hope to destroy in order to replace it with a synagogue.
Guards of the Temple Mount, a Jewish group, has recently got permission from Israeli police to enter the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem.
"This dangerous development comes in the context of Israeli aggression and assassinations which aim to inflame the region and worsen the situation," Erekat told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
He said that the Palestinian National Authority will hold contacts with the international quartet to stop the Israeli escalation.
Meanwhile, The Fatah movement called on the Palestinians, basically Jerusalem residents, to travel to the al-Aqsa mosque and defend it.
The current intifada began in September of 2000 when then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque, sparking riots in which Israeli police opened fire on unarmed Palestinian demonstrators, killing 20.
