Palestine calls for US action to stop Israeli violations at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestine on Sunday called for US and international action to stop Israeli violations in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

On Saturday, Israeli forces raided the flashpoint site late in the day and forced worshippers out of the complex, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for forcing Israel to comply with its commitments and “halt violations of holy sites in Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, before it is too late.”

The ministry termed the Israeli assault on worshippers inside Al-Aqsa as “a serious escalation” and held Tel Aviv fully responsible for its consequences.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

Nearly 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year, according to Palestinian figures. Fourteen Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area as 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.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar