Arab League condemns Israeli ‘crimes’ at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

ANKARA (AA) – The Arab League on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to intervene to halt Israeli “crimes” at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

In a statement issued following an emergency meeting in Cairo, the Arab League condemned Israeli assaults against worshippers inside Al-Aqsa complex.

“These crimes escalated dangerously in the past days of the month of Ramadan, and led to hundreds of injuries and arrests of worshippers, incursions and deliberate desecration of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Israeli officials and settlers under the protection of the occupation forces,” it said.

The statement rejected “all forms of Israeli violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, especially those aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The pan-Arab league held Israel responsible for the repercussions of its measures that hinder freedom of worship at Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

It called on the United Nations, including the Security Council, to assume its legal, moral and humanitarian responsibilities for halting the Israeli aggression and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.

Wednesday’s emergency meeting was called by Jordan, in coordination with Egypt and Palestine.

Tension rose in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after Israeli police detained around 350 worshippers from inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

A group of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Qibli Prayer Hall in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex after Jewish settlers called for a raid on the mosque. They attempted to prevent police from entering by closing its doors.

Surrounding the Al-Qibli Prayer Hall, Israeli police went up to the roof of the mosque, smashed some of the windows and initially intervened with sound bombs against the worshippers inside. Some of the people in the mosque tried to resist the police by throwing fireworks.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents Islam’s third-holiest site. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report.