News - Middle East: Israeli forces storm the At-Tur and Silwan neighborhoods in the occupied holy city of al-Quds, cracking down on the Palestinian population there.

The swoops took place on Sunday, ahead of upcoming Jewish holidays. The holidays are expected to witness a surge in violations of the al-Aqsa Mosque's compound--Islam's third-holiest site, which is located in al-Quds' Old City--by illegal Israeli settlers.

Reporting the crackdown on At-Tur, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency said the Israeli troops carried out raids throughout the neighborhood, arresting Palestinians and throwing teargas canisters at them.

In Silwan, the forces carried out a raid against Ein Al-Lawza, blocking the entrance to the area, assaulting its Palestinian residents, and similarly using teargas against them.

The Israeli regime has warned it would deploy "thousands" of its police forces throughout al-Quds during the upcoming holidays, which fall on September 29 this year.

Also on Sunday, the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas' spokesman Abdul-Latif al-Qanu urged Palestinians to converge on the compound in great numbers to confront expected violations of the site by the settlers.

He said the settlers were going to stage "the most serious and extensive violation" of the compound since 1948, when the Israeli regime occupied Palestine in a heavily Western-backed war. The pending storming of the compound by the settlers would amount to "a new stage of Judaization" of the site, he added.

The Palestinian resistance, he added, would not back down on its "responsibility" concerning what happens at the holy compound either.

Qanu repeated Hamas' call on Palestinians to "defend" the compound against Israeli violations, saying the occupying regime "solely" bears responsibility for whatever, which was going to happen at the site.

Source: Press TV