In its first official response to renewed Jewish visits to the Temple Mount on Independence Day, the Hamas terror group warned that, "Groups of Zionist settlers breaking into the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday under the watch of the Occupation soldiers is a dangerous escalation and direct provocation that could lead to a comprehensive explosion."
The group stressed that "attempts to divide the mount based on time and place, establishing facts on [ground] in the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque will not be allowed by the Muslims guarding the holy place and the heroic Palestinian people."
Hamas also blamed the international community for its approach to the Palestinian problem.