Arab ministerial committee denounces Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque
An Arab ministerial committee on Thursday slammed Israel’s practices in Jerusalem as “blatant provocation,” calling on the international community to stop such acts.
The Arab ministerial committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem convened an emergency meeting in Amman, condemning the Israeli attacks against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which resulted in the injuries and detentions of hundreds of worshippers, and damages to the facilities of the holy site.
The committee warned that these assaults represent a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims, undermine the freedom of worship, and could fuel violence and threaten regional and global security and stability.
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The committee also expressed its full support for the Palestinian people, mainly their legitimate rights based on the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The committee voiced rejection of all Israeli illegal practices to change the legal and historical status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and any attempts to impose spatial and temporal division at the mosque.
The committee, chaired by Jordan, includes Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and the Secretary-General of the Arab League.
The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past few weeks when the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, the latter of whom call it the Temple Mount.
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Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi on Thursday called for intensified Arab efforts to take the Palestinian cause to the forefront of the international public opinion.
Jerandi made the remarks at an emergency meeting of the Arab ministerial committee in charge of international action against illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem held in Jordan’s capital Amman, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The condemnable policies of the (Israeli) occupation forces aim to divert attention from the just Palestinian cause and turn it into a religious conflict,” said Jerandi at the meeting.
He underlined the responsibility of Arab states to convey a unified voice against such provocative policies that would have terrible consequences for peace in the Arab region and the world.
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“The violations committed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque only breeds more violence, hostility and hatred among religions,” the Tunisian minister added.
The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past few weeks when the Jewish festival of Passover overlapped with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
On April 15, clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, leaving more than 160 people wounded.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a site holy to both Muslims and Jews who call it the Temple Mount.
