Al-Aqsa complex
Jordan said Sunday it has protested Israeli violations at East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex as hundreds of Jewish settlers forced their way into the flashpoint site.
In a statement, government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said the Jordanian Embassy in Tel Aviv has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the Israeli Foreign Ministry over Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa compound.
“Such condemned and rejected practices…violate the sanctity of this holy site and provoke the sentiments of worshippers and Muslims all over the world,” she said in the statement cited by the official Petra news agency.
Ghunaimat said the Israeli practices at Al-Aqsa “were in violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying force under international law”, going on to call on Tel Aviv to “immediately halt” the practice.
Earlier Sunday, more than 1,000 Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of Israeli police.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Firas al-Dibis, an official with Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said Israeli police stormed the compound before the settlers and carried out protective sweeps and search.
The move came days after Knesset (Israel’s parliament) passed a controversial law that recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”.
For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state -- a move never recognized by the international community.
More than 1,000 Israeli settlers on Sunday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to a Palestinian official.Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Firas al-Dibis, an official with Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said Israeli police stormed the compound before the settlers and carried out protective sweeps and search.According to al-Dibis, Israeli forces denied access to Najeh Bakirat, a scholar at the Endowments Authority, and allowed Muslim worshippers inside the mosque after seizing their IDs.On Thursday, Knesset (Israel’s parliament) passed a controversial law that recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”.For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state -- a move never recognized by the international community.
Over 1,000 Jewish settlers converge on Al-Aqsa complex
Israeli Druze Members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) announced that they will lodge an appeal against a recent law recognizing Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”.Approved by Knesset on Thursday, the legislation also states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”According to Maariv daily on Sunday, three MKs have decided to object the controversial law at the Supreme Court.“I have no problem with the Jews and the fact that Israel is the state of the Jews,” MK Akram Hasson from Kulanu Party told Maariv.He went on asking:" What about the Druze, who sacrificed and fought for Israel's sake, 240 of whom were killed and more than 1,200 injured during their service in the army?"The Druze community has been living in northern Israel since 1948 and serve in the obligatory service of the Israeli army and consider themselves Israelis above all else. Exception to that is the Druze of Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967, which remained bound to their Arab identity.Israel's Jewish nation-state law undermines Middle East peace: Egypt‘Jewish state’ law sparks outrage among Jews
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