Today marks the 28th anniversary of the massacre of the first Al Aqsa Mosque, which was carried out by Israeli occupation forces.
On Monday, October 8, 1990, before noon prayers, the settlers of the so-called “Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement” tried to lay the foundation stone for the alleged Third Temple in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli occupation forces opened fire indiscriminately at worshipers in the mosque, killing 22 people, injuring more than 200, arresting 270 others while obstructing the movement of ambulances.
Prior to the massacre, Israeli forces imposed military checkpoints on all roads leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, to prevent them from reaching the site. However, the worshipers gathered in the mosque hours earlier, in response to calls from inside the mosque.
Israeli occupation soldiers remained in the squares and prevented the evacuation of the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded, only six hours after the massacre began.
The occupation authorities had distributed a statement, a few days before the massacre, in which Jews were invited to participate in a march to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the “Throne Day”. This was followed by a statement by extremist Gershon Salmon’s calls that “The Jews must renew their deep relations with the Holy Land.”
According to the PNN, the Jews closed the Mughrabi Gate after the massacre, claiming that the entry of Muslims was a threat to their lives.
Archive IMEMC post 06/12/16: Rabbi Lau: 3rd Temple Can be Built Without Destroying Al Aqsa
