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Muslims pray in the streets since al-Aqsa mosque remains closed
Muslims pray in the streets since al-Aqsa mosque remains closed
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Several Muslim nations condemned Israel’s closure of al-Aqsa Mosque’s gates to Muslim worshippers, especially during Ramadan amid the US-Israeli war with Iran and regional tensions.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, is the third-holiest place in Islam. The site is also the holiest in Judaism, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of eight countries — Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — denounced Israel’s “continued closure (of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem) to Muslim worshippers, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.”
The ministers said that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites. They stressed that the Jerusalem Endowments and al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with Jordan, is the ruling authority.
They called on Israel to halt the restrictions and on the international community to stand against Israel’s “ongoing violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as its violations of the sanctity of these holy places.”
Citing public safety concerns, Israeli police said in a statement last week that all holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City — including the Western Wall, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — would remain closed, barring worshippers and visitors of any faith.
“Israel is currently facing a complex period that requires personal responsibility from every citizen,” the statement added in reference to the county’s war with Iran.
Israeli police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne told CNN today in reaction to the joint statement that the closure has nothing to do with Ramadan, but “everything to do with safety.”
“Can you imagine dispersing tens of thousands of people during a ballistic missile siren when there is limited to no nearby shelters? And if it became a stampede? If it turned into a mass casualty event?” Elsdunne added.
