Al-Azhar decries Israel demolishing Palestinian homes

CAIRO (AA) - Al-Azhar Al-Sharif has condemned the recent demolition of dozens of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem by Israeli occupation forces.

The highest seat of learning in the Muslim Sunni world late Tuesday decried Israel’s "brutal actions" which violate the rights of the Palestinian people.

Al-Azhar urged international bodies and organizations to "preserve the legal status of Jerusalem and to maintain its identity."

On Monday, bulldozers accompanied by hundreds of Israeli soldiers moved into the neighborhood of Wadi Homs in East Jerusalem and began to raze several buildings in the area.

Israeli authorities claim that the buildings were constructed without a permit.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s "eternal and undivided" capital.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat