Saturday, December 28, 2024

France condemns Israel minister's storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

December 27, 2024 
MEMO

A group of illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the occupied East Jerusalem on December 26, 2024. [Screengrab/AA]

France today condemned a raid carried out by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“France condemns the visit yesterday of the Israeli Minister of National Security, Mr. Ben Gvir, to the Esplanade of the Mosques,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

It added that such actions violated “the historical status quo of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.”

“In Jerusalem, the now systematic questioning of the status quo on the Esplanade of the Mosques creates a risk of generalised conflagration,” the ministry said.

Emphasising the need to preserve the historical status quo at holy places in Jerusalem, it also highlighted “the importance of Jordan’s specific role in this regard.”

Ben-Gvir, accompanied by Israeli police, carried out the raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem early yesterday morning.

Qatar warns of ongoing Israeli escalation in Al-Aqsa

MEMO
December 27, 2024 

A view of the Qubbat al-Sakhra (Dome of the Rock) at Al-Aqsa mosque compound, where the first qibla of Muslims, in Jerusalem on April 19, 2024
 [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency

Qatar has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under the protection of occupation forces.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that repeated attempts to undermine the religious and historical status of Al-Aqsa Mosque are not only an attack on Palestinians but also on over two billion Muslims worldwide.

It also warned about the continuation of the aggressive policies adopted by the Israeli government in the occupied Palestinian territories, highlighting their impact on increasing violence in the region and undermining efforts for a two-state solution and achieving a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace.

Qatar reaffirmed its steadfast position on justice for the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their full right to practice their religious rituals without restrictions and to establish their independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Earlier yesterday, extremist minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque with a group of settlers. They were heavily guarded by occupation police. This is thought to be part of his efforts to mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.


Israeli minister’s Al-Aqsa mosque visit sparks condemnation


Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the Al-Aqsa compound. (Reuters)

AFP
December 26, 2024

Ben Gvir has repeatedly defied the Israeli government’s longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the site in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM: Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, triggering angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Jordan accusing the far-right politician of a deliberate provocation.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly defied the Israeli government’s longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the site in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, which is revered by both Muslims and Jews and has been a focal point of tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I went up to the site of our temple this morning to pray for the peace of our soldiers, the swift return of all hostages and a total victory, God willing,” Ben Gvir said in a message on social media platform X, referring to the Gaza war and the dozens of Israeli captives held in the Palestinian territory.

He also posted a photo of himself on the holy site, with members of the Israeli security forces and the famed golden Dome of the Rock in the background.

The Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City is Islam’s third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their future capital, while Israeli leaders have insisted that the entire city is their “undivided” capital.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it “condemns” Ben Gvir’s latest visit, calling his prayer at the site a “provocation to millions of Palestinians and Muslims.”

Jordan, which administers the mosque compound, similarly condemned what its foreign ministry called Ben Gvir’s “provocative and unacceptable” actions.

The ministry’s statement decried a “violation of the historical and legal status quo.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief statement that “the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed.”


Israeli minister storms Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem



December 26, 2024 
MEMO

TWO ZIONISTS ELEVEN SECURITY GUARDS
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (2nd L) forces his way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under police protection in East Jerusalem on 18 July 2024 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir forced his way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, marking a new provocation amid the ongoing war on Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports.

Ben-Gvir entered the site under heavy police protection and toured the mosque’s courtyard, said an official with the Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem.

This was the extremist minister’s fifth visit to the flashpoint complex since he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in 2022.

It coincided with the week-long Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which started on Thursday.

The National Democratic Alliance, an Israeli Arab party, condemned Ben-Gvir’s tour of the Al-Aqsa complex as a “deliberate provocation to the sentiments of Arabs and Muslims around all the world.”

The party called on Palestinians to intensify their presence and visits to the mosque.

Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers into the flashpoint compound on an almost daily basis with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. 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.

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