Jordan, Palestinians condemn ‘raids’ on Temple Mount

As the police attempted to enter the place, Arab worshipers began throwing stones, chairs and other objects at the forces. The forces responded with riot dispersal means.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Jewish women march while police patrol in the Old City during Jerusalem Day, 2019 (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Jewish women march while police patrol in the Old City during Jerusalem Day, 2019
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The Palestinian Authority and Jordan on Sunday condemned “Israeli raids” on the al-Aqsa Mosque after Muslim worshipers clashed with the police in protest against Jewish visits to the Temple Mount.
The worshipers threw stones, chairs and other objects at the forces, who responded with riot dispersal means.
PA governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Gheith, accused Jewish “settlers” and policemen of “rioting” inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in a “blatant violation of the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan.”
He said that the Muslim worshipers who were at the compound came there to “affirm the Islamic identity” of the site and express their rejection of Israeli schemes to “Judaize” it and change its feature.”
“The settlers are trying by all means to enter the al-Aqsa Mosque to impose a fait accompli and divide it in time and space [between Muslims and Jews],” Gheith added. He also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of working toward instigating tensions in Jerusalem “to cover up his financial corruption.”
The Islamic Wakf Council in Jerusalem and other Islamic institutions accused the Israeli police of protecting and encouraging Jewish “extremists” and “settlers.” They also accused the police of using “repressive measures” to disperse Muslim worshipers protesting Jewish visits to the Temple Mount.
The Wakf council said in a statement that “such arbitrary measures cannot be accepted on the pretext of Jewish holidays.” It said that the Muslims consider the Jewish visits a “systematic escalation aimed at destabilizing the historical, legal and religious status in al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupation government bears full responsibility for its arrogance and intimidation by allowing extremists whose hearts are filled with hatred to invade the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Jordanian Minister of Wakf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Nasser Abul Bassal denounced what he called the “provocative actions” of the Israeli authorities against worshipers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“Israeli authorities this morning raided the mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, escorted by ultra-Orthodox settlers, and assaulted worshipers during the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan,” the minister said in a statement.
He accused Israel of violating international norms and laws by “assaulting children, women, and elderly, pursuing them, and firing tear gas at them, as well as beating unarmed [Wakf] guards and preventing medics from treating them.” The minister called on peace-loving countries to “pressure Israel to halt these irresponsible actions, which will fuel religious conflicts in the region if they continue.”
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian groups also strongly condemned the “incursions by Jewish settlers and extremists” into the Temple Mount.
“The ongoing arrogance of the occupation and its settlers and the desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque will lead to more Palestinian adherence to their holy sites,” Hamas said in response to Sunday’s events at the Temple Mount. “The occupation bears full responsibility for the repercussions of these assaults.”
Islamic Jihad said in a statement that Israel will “pay the price” for allowing “settlers to storm the al-Aqsa Mosque.”


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