CAIRO, April 5 (Xinhua) — The Arab League (AL) on Wednesday criticized Israel for carrying out a police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a holy site in East Jerusalem.
In a statement released following an emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, the pan-Arab organization said Israel bears full responsibility for the potential consequences of the escalation, which risks undermining peace and security In the region. She also urged the international community to protect the Palestinian people and their right to freedom of worship.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli police raided the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, leading to clashes with several dozen Palestinian worshipers inside. . At least twelve people were injured in the clashes. Israeli police said they entered the compound because Palestinians brought fireworks, sticks and rocks and barricaded themselves inside the mosque.
During the LA meeting, which was convened by Jordan, Palestine and Egypt, the Arab countries agreed to “condemn the crimes of the occupying forces once morest the worshipers of the holy Al -Aqsa, and categorically reject Israeli violations, which seek to alter the historical and legal status and sanctity of Jerusalem,” according to the LA statement.
In an earlier statement, LA Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the Israeli raid, and called on the international community “to act quickly to end the dangerous escalation initiated by Israel, which threatens to inflame the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories”. END
