Remembering the Al-Aqsa Mosque Massacre

Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- On Saturday, Palestinians marked the 32nd anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Mosque massacre, which broke out on October 8, 1990 in occupied Jerusalem.

One of the bloodiest events at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque took place in 1990 and involved Israeli forces’ killing of around 21 Palestinians, injuring more than 200 and arresting 270 others.

The killings began after a demonstration by Palestinians within the compound in response to another attempt by extremist Israeli settler groups to place a cornerstone for the alleged Third Temple.

Israeli occupation forces responded first with tear gas and later when reinforcements arrived, with automatic gunfire into the crowd.

At the time, the forces prevented ambulance crews from entering the holy site and delayed the evacuation of the victims for long hours.

Demonstrators had been throwing stones at Israeli forces and Israeli authorities claimed that protesters targeted Israeli settlers at the al-Buraq Wall, although there were no serious injuries.

A contemporary report by the New York Times described the event as “a story of poor planning rather than malicious intent” but Palestinian leaders disagreed.

The newspaper spoke to Adnan Husseini, of the Jerusalem Islamic administrative authority, who said, “The massacre was planned before by the Israelis to scare the Muslims so we wouldn’t protest any decisions that are made about our holy places.”