Muslim Council of Britain denounces Israel's violence in Jerusalem

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) – The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) on Saturday condemned Israel’s violence against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The MCB said scores of worshippers, including men, women and children, were injured at a mosque that is one of Islam’s holiest sites during the most sacred nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets to disperse Muslim worshippers from the mosque, the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, on Friday evening.

“The violence comes amidst illegal efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah area,” the group said.

“We call on our UK government to condemn such flagrant theft and uphold UN Security Council Resolution 2334 concerning the occupation of Palestinian territories and stopping illegal settlement activity.”

According to the Palestine Red Crescent, at least 205 people were injured by Israeli forces in the Old City and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods.

Tensions have run high in the Sheikh Jarrah area all through the week as Israeli settlers have swarmed in after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families.

Since 1956, a total of 37 Palestinian families have been living in 27 homes in the neighborhood. However, illegal Jewish settlers have been trying to push them out on the basis of a law approved by the Israeli parliament in 1970.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is seen as occupied territory under international law, thus making all Jewish settlements there illegal.

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