A famous American actor and director says Israel systematically targets Muslim worshipers and journalists at the Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds, amid intensified Israeli assaults on Palestinians at the holy site.

Mark Ruffalo made the remarks in a post on his Twitter account following a new round of Israeli aggression against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including al-Quds, during which a number of Palestinians were arrested and injured.

“Starting on Friday, almost 500 Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli occupation authorities from al-Aqsa Mosque, and, as you said, 170 were injured, several of whom were in critical condition and several of whom were journalists … targeted by design by the Israeli soldiers,” Ruffalo said, quoting Mohamed al-Kurd, who made the comment recently during an interview with Democracy Now, the Palestinian Information Center reported.

This is not the first time Ruffalo has criticized Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

Last year, he signed a letter along with 100 other celebrities, accusing Israel of “apartheid occupation and settler colonialism,” as well as “gross human rights violations” and being an “apartheid regime of institutionalized racial discrimination.”

The Hollywood director also urged the US administration to sanction Israel during its brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip in 2021.

Also In 2020, he accused Israel of apartheid and engaging in “asymmetrical warfare” on Palestinians.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been at the center of weeks of heightened Israeli violence against Palestinian worshipers since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

As a result, at least 19 Palestinians, including three boys and three women, have been killed at the hands of Israeli regime forces and hundreds have been wounded.

Thousands of people across the globe have taken to the streets to deplore Israeli violence against Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Mosque and elsewhere in the occupied territories.

Pro-Palestinian rallies have not been limited to Muslim-majority countries. People in Western states, including the US and the UK, also convened to reaffirm their support for Palestinians.

On Friday, Israeli military forces once again attacked Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society affirmed that rubber-coated metal bullets injured 31 people, including one paramedic while dozens more suffered from tear gas inhalation.

It also reported that three journalists were wounded in the Israeli savage assault, including one who was hit with a rubber-coated bullet in his throat.

At least 11 young men were transferred to hospital for treatment, two of them in serious condition.

Palestinian media said at least 43 Palestinians were injured in the raid.

The development came a day after as many as 30 Palestinians were wounded after Israeli forces continued their violent attacks against worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied al-Quds.

In their most serious bout of aggression against the Palestinians during Ramadan, Israeli forces injured more than 150 worshipers at the compound last Saturday.