The Arab League has condemned incursions by Israeli security forces into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, after clashes earlier in the day between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.
The Arab League also criticised the “central planning of the [Israeli] government and those in charge of the Israeli state” in these incursions.
On Sunday, which marked the day of the destruction of the two holy temples for the Jews, Palestinians erected makeshift barricades after tensions had been building up over the previous few days. The Israeli police reacted by employing stun grenades, and clashes between Palestinian protestors and the security forces erupted, according to Reuters news agency.
Several people were left with light injuries following the clashes, which eventually ebbed down after the demonstrators fell back into the mosque. Israeli forces entered into the mosque’s entrance to close the doors, following their standard procedure of not venturing further into the mosque itself.
Mohamed Sabih, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League for Palestine and the Occupied Territories, stated that the Arab League had been “following these repeated incursions for a long time”. He also called the Al-Aqsa Mosque a “red line”.
Sabih accused the Israeli forces of not properly observing “the sanctity of the holy places for Muslims and Christians in the region”. He called upon the United Nations Security Council members, especially the US, “to stop the violations against the holy sites”.
Also on Sunday, Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, a right-wing hardliner, visited the Temple Mount, drawing criticism from the Joint Arab List. The spokesman of the Joint Arab List blamed Ariel’s visit for the violence, according to Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post.
