RAMALLAH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Sunday condemned what it described as escalating settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem during Jewish holidays, calling them a "flagrant violation of the historical and legal status of the holy sites."
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that the continued incursions represented a dangerous attempt by Israel to impose new realities on the ground and restrict Palestinian worshippers.
Abu Rudeineh said attempts to impose what he described as a temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, coupled with continued escalation in Jerusalem, could "transform the political conflict into a religious war, endangering security and stability in the region."
He called on the international community to take "urgent action" and implement immediate measures to protect the Palestinian people and holy sites, and to compel Israeli authorities to halt violations and comply with relevant international resolutions.
Earlier Sunday, the Jerusalem Governorate of the Palestinian Authority said that 1,143 settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy Israeli police protection, coinciding with the second day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles.
Also on Sunday, in an interview with Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the complete dismantling of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and an all-out military campaign against West Bank cities and refugee camps, using tactics similar to those employed in Gaza since October 2023.
In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Smotrich's remarks as an explicit call to "escalate aggression and commit further crimes against the Palestinian people."
It said the remarks revealed what it described as Israeli plans to annex Palestinian territory, displace Palestinians and undermine the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, adding that such actions violate international law, relevant UN resolutions and signed agreements.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire and shelling in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian official figures. ■
