Israel must immediately withdraw police forces and special forces from Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi made this demand to the Israeli authorities on Friday.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the storming by Israeli police and special forces of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque and the attacks on worshipers, which is totally unacceptable," he told Al Jazeera television. The deputy prime minister warned of the dangerous consequences of the escalation and held the Israeli government responsible for security on the Temple Mount.
"Israel, as the occupying power, should respect its obligations under international humanitarian law," he said. According to the deputy prime minister, Jordan "will work to ensure that worshipers in East Jerusalem have access to Islamic shrines without restrictions during the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan and to stop all provocative measures."
In turn, the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Akram Sabri told the Al Jazeera TV channel that "the Palestinians count only on their own strength to protect their national rights". He condemned the silence of Arab states about the events on the Temple Mount. Sheikh Sabri pointed out that the clashes in the courtyard of the Jerusalem mosque were provoked by Jewish settlers who were supported by the Israeli security forces.
WAFA reported that 153 Arabs who were injured during the clash with the police required medical treatment and that 30 more were taken to hospitals with rubber bullet wounds. According to its information, some 400 people involved in clashes with Israeli soldiers were detained. There are also at least eight injured among the Israelis.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS