Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by the Israeli army, assaulting worshipers and arresting several on Wednesday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
In a statement, the ministry “expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and rejection of the blatant storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound, these practices undermine peace efforts, reaffirming its firm position in supporting all efforts aimed at ending the occupation and reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause.”
The raid occurred during the month of Ramadan, a time of spirituality and prayer in Islam.
“Such actions violate international principles and norms regarding respect for religious sanctities,” the statement said.
Israeli police attacked dozens of worshippers in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday, witnesses said, after storming inside.
The incident sparked protests across the occupied West Bank and the Israeli military said nine rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel after sirens blared in southern towns.
Jordan and Egypt, both involved in recent US-backed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, issued separate statements condemning the incident.
The Arab world condemned on Wednesday a raid by Israeli forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The Arab League also condemned the raid.
"The extremist approaches that control the policy of the Israeli government will lead to widespread confrontations with the Palestinians if they are not put to an end," League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
Israeli police stormed into the mosque early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinian youths who hurled firecrackers at them in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season.
Israeli police stormed into the mosque early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinian youths who hurled firecrackers at them in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season.
Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes.
The fighting, coming as Muslims mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan and Jews prepare to begin the Passover festival on Wednesday evening, raised fears of a wider conflagration. Similar clashes two years ago erupted into a bloody 11-day war between Israel and the ruling Hamas group in Gaza.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that dozens of worshippers who were spending the night praying were injured in the police raid. The Israeli military said one soldier was shot in a separate incident in the occupied West Bank.
Egypt condemned the storming of the mosque, saying such "vile scenes and repeated Israeli violations of sacred sites" incite all Palestinians and Muslims.
A Foreign Ministry statement called on Israeli authorities to immediately cease their violations that are "terrorizing worshippers, who had sought peace in the house of God during the holy month of Ramadan."
It held Israel responsible for this "dangerous escalation that undermines efforts to restore calm that Egypt and its regional and international partners have been pursuing."
It also urged the international community to assume its responsibilities and put a stop to such violations and avert more instability and tensions in the region.
Qatar strongly condemned the raid, saying such "barbaric practices were a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation of holy sites and an extension of attempts to Judaize Jerusalem."
They are a violation of international laws and resolutions, and provoke over a billion Muslims around the world, significantly during Ramadan, said a Foreign Ministry statement.
It added that international law still views Jerusalem as an occupied city, and its worshippers are protected by international and humanitarian treaties.
It blamed Israel for the attack, warning against attempts to introduce any changes to the historic and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Jerusalem.
It held Israel fully responsible for the cycle of violence that will ensure from its systematic policies against the rights of the Palestinian people. It also called on the international community to act immediately to put an end to these policies.
The ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm stance in support of the Palestinian people and their rights in practicing their religious faith without restrictions and in establishing an independent state according to the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Jordan strongly condemned the Israeli raid and attack on worshippers.
It demanded that Israel immediately pull out its forces and police from the Al-Aqsa compound.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the storming of the Aqsa and attacks on worshippers are "flagrant violations". Israel must cease its violations of international humanitarian law and all measures that are aimed at altering the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
It warned of the consequences of this dangerous escalation, holding Isarel responsible for the safety of the worshippers
The mosque sits on a sensitive hilltop compound holy to both Jews and Muslims. Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam and is typically packed with worshippers during Ramadan.
Overnight, the scene of festive holiday-makers picnicking and praying at the holy site transformed into one of violence, as Israeli police stormed into the mosque, firing tear gas and stun grenades that shattered stained-glass windows and fiercely beating worshippers with clubs and rifle butts, witnesses said.
The spot, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is also the holiest site in Judaism, revered as the location of the biblical Jewish temples. The conflicting claims fuel constant tensions that have spilled over to violence numerous times in the past.
Since Ramadan began March 22, scores of Muslim worshippers have been trying to stay overnight in the mosque, a practice that is typically permitted only during the last 10 days of the monthlong holiday. Israeli police have entered nightly to evict the worshippers, stirring tensions with young Palestinians who demand to pray at the holy site until dawn.
Tensions over control of the holy site have been heightened by calls from Jewish ultranationalists to carry out a ritual slaughter of a goat in the compound, imitating the ancient ritual sacrifice executed on Passover in biblical times.
Israel bars ritual slaughters on the site, but calls by Jewish extremists to revive the practice, including offers of cash rewards to anyone who even attempts to bring an animal into the compound, have amplified fears among Muslims that Israel is plotting to take over the site.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is committed to preserving the status quo at the compound.
After some 80,000 worshippers attended evening prayers at the mosque on Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque overnight to pray. Worshippers said that after they refused to leave, Israeli police moved into the mosque, descending on Palestinians with batons.
Israeli police said they moved in after "several law-breaking youths and masked agitators" brought fireworks, sticks and stones and barricaded themselves into the mosque. Police said the youths chanted violent slogans and locked the front doors.
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