Israeli Occupiers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, Draw Condemnations
According to the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, approximately 1,390 settlers violated the site's sanctity through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate.
Witnesses reported that hawkish Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined the settlers in performing Talmudic rituals at the holy site. However, Ben-Gvir’s office stated that the minister did not enter the compound but greeted settlers at the entrance.
Israeli officials and settlers frequently storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a practice that provokes strong reactions from Palestinians and other Muslim nations. The provocative visits are typically organized by Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and occur under the supervision of Israeli military forces in al-Quds.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, located above the Western Wall plaza, includes both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque. While Jewish visitation to al-Aqsa is allowed, a long-standing agreement between Jordan and Israel, established after Israel's occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, prohibits non-Muslim worship at the site.
Condemnations pour in
Several regional states, including Iran, Jordan, and Qatar, slammed the latest Israeli violation of the Muslim holy site.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the Israeli crimes in Gaza and violations of al-Aqsa Mosque’s sanctity in a Sunday statement.
“The massacre of more than seventy innocent Palestinian women and children in Beit Lahia from last night until early this morning, along with the brutal attack by extremist Zionist settlers on Al-Aqsa Mosque, indicates a deliberate and dangerous plan by the apartheid Zionist regime to destroy the identity of the Palestinian people and the holy sites of this sacred land, especially al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.
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Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the storming constitutes a blatant breach of international law, the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, and Israel's obligations as "the occupying power," according to a statement by the ministry.
Spokesperson of the ministry Sufian Qudah said that Israel must halt all ongoing violations and breaches of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, calling for an end to the imposition of new realities at al-Aqsa Mosque
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Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the latest provocation in a Sunday statement. Doha warned of repercussions of the repeated Israeli attempts to compromise the religious and historical status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It stressed that the international community should shoulder its moral and legal responsibility toward Jerusalem and its sanctities.
This recent entry by Israeli settlers coincides with ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 42,603 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 7 of last year.
Source: Agencies
