France Calls for Respect of Historic Status Quo at Jerusalem’s Holy Places
Paris, MINA – France today called for respect of the historic status quo at the holy places in the occupied city of Jerusalem following the brutal attack by Israeli occupation forces on Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second consecutive night, WAFA reported.
“France expresses its concern over the past two nights’ violence on ]Al-Aqsa Mosque compound[, including inside the Qibli Mosque,” the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs stated in press statement.
The Ministry called “respect of the historic status quo on Jerusalem’s holy sites” and for “refrain]ing[ from any action liable to fuel the violence”.
Israeli occupation forces stormed Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque while nearly 20,000 worshippers were still performing the Ramadan Taraweeh night prayer and forcibly removed worshippers from its prayer hall and surrounding yards for the second consecutive night late Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the occupation forces raided al-Aqsa mosque and assaulted worshippers in shocking scenes recorded on video and widely shared on social media, generating international condemnation.
The heavily-armed police officers could be seen pushing peaceful Muslim worshippers, including elderly men, off their prayer mats and forcing them to leave the site. In other scenes, the police were filmed beating worshippers with batons and rifle butts while they appeared to be lying on the floor and firing tear gas inside a darkened Al-Aqsa, while women could be heard screaming in protest.
The police brutalization of the worshippers was reminiscent to the 2021 Ramadan tensions and May violence over Israeli settler takeover of Palestinian property in Sheikh Jarrah and encroachments upon the mosque compound, culminating in Israeli onslaught on Gaza and large-scale protests throughout historic Palestine.
For many Palestinians in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory, Ramadan is directly connected to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Islam.
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.(T/R3/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
