Egypt condemned in the strongest terms, in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli police and the accompanying blatant attacks that led to numerous injuries among worshipers, including women, in violation of all international laws and norms.
Egypt considered that such abhorrent and deplorable scenes, and the repeated Israeli violations of the sanctity of holy places, fuel the feelings of anger of all the Palestinian people, Islamic peoples and conscientious people around the world, calling on the Israeli authorities to immediately stop these aggressions that terrorize the worshipers who took Baitullah(the mosque) as a safe house during the holy month of Ramadan.
Egypt held Israel, the occupying power, responsible for this dangerous escalation that would undermine the truce efforts being engaged by Egypt with its regional and international partners, demanding that the international community bear its responsibility to put an end to these attacks and spare the region from further factors of instability and tension.
Dozens of Jewish fanatics stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque Wednesday morning after the Israeli police forcefully removed most of the Palestinian Muslim worshippers from its premises.,
WAFA news agency said the fanatics stormed Al-Aqsa in the form of groups, each of which included 50 persons, and carried out provocative walks in the courtyards of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, while performing Jewish rituals on the eastern side of the courtyards and in front of the Dome of the Rock before leaving the compound.
Dozens of worshipers were injured last night after the occupation forces stormed the Al-Qibli mosque building and fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas and sound bombs at the worshippers to force them to leave the compound.
The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said that the Israeli forces arrested more than 400 worshipers during their aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque before later releasing most of them while ordering many to stay away from Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Arab League issued a statement on Wednesday following an emergency meeting held at the level of permanent delegates to discuss the latest developments in Al Aqsa Mosque, following the violations committed by the occupation forces against worshipers.
Following the meeting, the Arab League expressed its strong condemnation of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against unarmed Muslim worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, which escalated in a serious way during the last days of the holy month of Ramadan.
These crimes led to hundreds of injuries and arrests among worshipers in the mosque, and to the raids and deliberate desecration of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli officials and settlers who were protected by the Israeli occupation forces
The Arab League rejected all forms of Israeli violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, especially attempts to change the historical and legal status quo in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and divide it in time and space, and to undermine the prayers of Muslims there and keep them away from it.
It also rejected attempts to control the Jordanian Islamic Waqf Administration in occupied Jerusalem, attack its employees, prevent them from doing their jobs and enforce Israeli law.
The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, condemned the Israeli forces’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, attacking worshipers, and arresting nearly 400 Palestinians, calling on the international community to compel Israel to stop what he described as the dangerous escalation on the ground in the occupied territories.
Aboul Gheit said in a statement that these irresponsible behaviors in the holy places affect the religious feelings of millions of Muslims around the world.
He called on the international community to act quickly to force Israel to stop this dangerous escalation, which threatens to ignite the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He also called on the Israeli government to stop these provocative actions, warning against the consequences of exporting the internal political crisis in Israel to the Palestinian people.
Aboul Gheit stressed that the extremist tendencies that control the Israeli government policy will lead to widespread confrontations with the Palestinians if they are not put to an end.
