Palestinian Foreign Ministry Denounces Targeting of Al-Aqsa Mosque
SMA NEWS – RAMALLAH
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (MOFAE) denounced on Sunday the storming of the Dome of the Rock a day after preventing the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee from conducting maintenance works in El-Marwani Mosque.
Israeli forces on Sunday broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and prevented staff from repairing marble and internal struts inside the Dome of the Rock.
Bassam Al-Hallaq, head of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee, said that a number of Israeli soldiers stormed the Dome of the Rock and threatened staff with arrest or banishment if they continued the maintenance works.
On Saturday, Israeli troops prevented the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee from conducting maintenance works in El-Marwani Mosque, he added.
For years, the Israeli authorities have been hindering several essential maintenances and repairing in Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.
In a statement on Sunday, MOFA decried the flagrant targeting of Al-Aqsa and its vicinity.
It held the occupation’s cabinet responsible for the ongoing aggression on the Mosque, which is seen as a provocation of Arab and Muslim sentiments.
The ministry warned of consequences, considering these practices as an Israeli attempt to drag the region into a religious conflict.
MOFA demanded that the specialized international organizations including UNESCO bear ethical and legal liability towards the continuous aggressions on Christian and Islamic sacred sites in Jerusalem.
The ministry urged a prompt action to protect Al-Aqsa from the plots of demolition and division, stressing that it is coordinating with the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate to reinforce efforts to protect the sacred sites namely Al-Aqsa.
