Premier Muhammad Shtayyeh yesterday condemned Israel’s decision to allow ‘silent’ Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Shtayyeh warned against Israel’s attempts to impose new fait accompli at the mosque compound while calling on the US administration to fulfill its pledges to maintain the “status quo” in force at the holy site and not to allow any change in it.
He affirmed continued coordination with Jordan in this regard and called on the Arab and Islamic nations to take serious positions to stop the Israeli measures that constitute a serious violation of Al-Aqsa, the first Qibla and the third holiest site in Islam.
He also called on Israeli leaders to draw on the lessons of the past as he recalled the Palestinian worshippers’ success in foiling the Israeli occupation authorities’ attempts to install electronic turnstiles at the entrances of the mosque compound in 2017.
A judge of Israel’s Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that silent prayer by Israeli Jewish settlers at al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem was not a “criminal act”.
While Jewish worshippers are allowed access to al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, they are not allowed to pray there.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Islam.
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency