Israel Faces Criticism for Permitting Settler Prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Banning Non-Muslim Visits
Date
4/12/2023 5:27:26 AM
(MENAFN) Israel has banned visits by non-Muslims to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem until the end of Ramadan, following outrage over Israeli security forces permitting about 800 settlers to pray in the compound on Tuesday morning, in breach of a longstanding agreement. The agreement prohibits non-Muslim prayer in the compound during the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month. The move has drawn criticism from Palestinians and international observers as yet another attempt to assert Israeli control over the holy site.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a highly sensitive religious site that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The compound is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel unilaterally annexed the Old City and declared Jerusalem its capital, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
Israel's increasingly empowered radical settler movement has been pushing for greater access to the compound, which they refer to as the Temple Mount, and have been calling for the construction of a third Jewish temple on the site. This has raised concerns among Palestinians and Muslim leaders that Israel is seeking to change the status quo at the site and ultimately take control of it.
Sheikh Ekrima Said Sabri, former grand mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine and the current preacher at Al-Aqsa, told Arab News that "Israel wants to prove that they are the ones who decide what can and cannot happen at Al-Aqsa, and we see this as an extreme violation and provocation." He added that the ban on non-Muslim visits was a "violation of freedom of worship and a clear attempt to establish Israeli sovereignty over the mosque."
The move has also drawn criticism from human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which called on Israel to respect the rights of Palestinians to freedom of religion and worship. Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, said, "The Israeli authorities must immediately stop this assault on the right to freedom of religion and respect the status quo at the holy site."
Meanwhile, violence continues in the occupied West Bank, with Israeli forces killing two Palestinians and injuring a third in the village of Deir Al-Hatab on Tuesday. The two who died, Saud Al-Titi and Mohammed Abu Dira, were former prisoners and members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the military wing of President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, according to Palestinian sources. The continued violence and unrest in the region highlight the need for a peaceful resolution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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