'Dangerous Step': Israeli Occupation Condemned for Installing Barriers at Al-Aqsa
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a Thursday statement that the Israeli move is an attempt to change the historic, legal, and political reality of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It considered installing the iron barriers as a flagrant violation of international law and Israel's obligations as the occupying power towards places of worship.
The ministry called for international intervention "to stop Israel's infringement on Jerusalem and its Christian and Muslim sanctities."
Early on Thursday, the Israeli military said it installed what it described as reinforcements to its personnel at the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and denied putting obstacles in front of worshippers.
The regime has restricted access of Palestinian worshippers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque amid growing tensions across the occupied West Bank due to Tel Aviv’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip which has left more than 31,300 people dead since last October.
Hamas calls for mobilisation
Hamas said on Thursday they would not allow their sacred spaces to be "violated".
"We warn the occupation against going too far in its measures against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we affirm that our stationed people will remain loyal and vigilant, and will not remain silent in the face of the occupation’s efforts to harm the status and status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque," Haroun Nasser al-Din, Hamas' head of Jerusalem Affairs, said in a statement.
The statement called on Palestinians to "mobilise and confront" the occupying forces in East al-Quds.
"Preserving al-Quds is one of the most important duties, especially as we enter the month of jihad and victories."
'Dangerous and unacceptable step'
"The Israeli occupation authorities' installation of iron barriers on three of the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, is a dangerous and unacceptable step," the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry said that “Israel has no sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem,” and that it did "not have the right to impose any restrictions that hinder the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque."
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Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
Source: Agencies
