RAMALLAH, Wednesday, April 5, 2023 (WAFA) - The State of Palestine today condemned in the strongest terms the brutal attacks of Israeli occupation soldiers against Palestinian worshippers at the holy Aqsa Mosque Compound/Al-Haram Al-Sharif; according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
It said that the Israeli occupation forces illegally invaded Al Aqsa, barbarically assaulted men, women, and children, unlawfully detained over 500 worshippers, prevented ambulances from attending to hundreds of injured worshippers, causing irreparable damage to the Mosque, including by causing a fire.
“Palestine reaffirms that Israel, its officials, occupation forces, and settler terrorist militias, have no sovereignty whatsoever over any part of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound,” it said.
“Palestinian worshippers have the absolute right to freely and safely pray in and around the holy compound, whenever and at any time, without any obstruction or violence.”
The Foreign Ministry said Israel’s aggression against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is an egregious assault on the basic right of Palestinians to worship freely in their holy sites, especially during this holy month of fasting and religious introspection.
“In grave violation of the tenets of international law, Israel, the occupying Power, is imposing arbitrary limitations on when and how Palestinians can worship while inviting and encouraging settlers to carry out highly provocative and illegal daily raids of the holy site,” it said.
“Such systematic Israeli actions of brutalization and deliberate provocation reflect the occupier’s messianic drive to provoke and initiate a religious confrontation. They must be confronted and stopped by all responsible international actors.”
The Ministry stressed that the international community is obligated to hold Israel and its officials accountable for their crimes, and called on the United Nations Security Council “to urgently devise effective measures to ensure the protection of worshippers and the full respect for the historic and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Palestinian people will continue to exercise their right to defend Jerusalem, its mosques and churches, from Israel’s ongoing aggression, it stressed.
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