TURKEY AND JORDAN CONDEMN ZIONIST ATTACK ON WORSHIPPERS IN AL AQSA

       Al-Quds (Jerussalem), 2 Zulqa’idah 1434/8 September 2013 (MINA) – Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly condemned Israel for excessive use of force against worshippers in Al-Aqsa mosque and blocking Muslims not to enter the mosque and Jordan on Saturday also condemned Israeli occupation soldiers’ assault on Palestinians performing Friday prayer at Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

      Jordanian Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani denounced the attack, saying that Jordan has requested that the Israeli occupation authorities prevent Jewish extremists from entering Al Aqsa Mosque by closing Bab Al Magharbeh, the main entrance for non-Muslim visitors to the mosque complex, but they still neglect that, paving the way for religious friction.

       Momani voiced Jordan’s deep concern over the serious Israeli violations against the holy sites of Jerusalem, mainly Al Aqsa Mosque, calling on Tel Aviv to respect international laws and conventions on the occupied territories.

        Israeli police fired stun grenades to disperse Palestinian worshippers who threw rocks at them after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site, a police spokesman said.

         Dozens of officers entered the politically sensitive area in Jerusalem’s Old City to break up hundreds of protesters, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

         He added that two policemen were slightly injured and 15 Palestinians arrested, Alray, Palestinian Media Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

         Israeli security forces had beefed up their presence in the area during the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which began on Wednesday.

         Israel captured East Jerusalem including the walled Old City in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it as part of its capital in a move that is not recognized internationally.

          Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they seek in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israel has said Jerusalem will remain its “indivisible and eternal” capital.

          The two sides resumed US-brokered peace talks in July after a three-year stalemate, though neither has expressed much optimism for a major breakthrough.

Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Israel

         Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly condemned Israel for excessive use of force against worshippers in Al-Aqsa mosque and blocking Muslims not to enter the mosque, according to World Bulletin report.

        “We call on Israel to stop the aggressor initiatives right away which aimed at the freedom of worship for Muslims and holiness of the Temple Mount,” Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday while Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was in St. Petersburg for G20 Summit.

          The ministry stated that Israeli security officers by using disproportionate force, injured Muslims who were in Al-Aqsa mosque to pray.

           The statement pointed out that the disproportionate force aimed at the Temple Mount, holy sanctuary for Muslim World, instead of stopping fanatic settlers on September 4.

           The ministry condemned Israel and found its actions unacceptable for preventing the freedom of worship unjustly and arbitrarily and forbidding Muslims not to enter the Al-Aqsa mosque.

           Scores of worshippers suffered gas inhalation on Friday after Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa mosque compound following the weekly prayers and clashed with worshippers.

          Eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces stormed the mosque compound from the Silsila (Chain) and Al-Maghariba gates on the western side of the mosque and besieged worshippers inside the Qebli mosque, prompting young Palestinians and worshippers to hurl stones at the forces.

        “Israeli forces fired gas into the Qebli mosque, which left scores suffering from gas inhalation,” Sheikh Najeh Bakirat, the head of the mosque, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

         He said that the clashes have spread into the Old City of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

         A number of worshippers have been arrested by Israeli forces, he added.

        Tension has gripped Al-Quds after scores of Jewish settlers stormed Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, on Wednesday on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.

        Distressed Palestinians, meanwhile, responded by calling for mass protests inside the mosque compound in what they called a “Day of Mobilization.”

         Israeli authorities arrested dozens of Palestinians in the confrontations which ensued. (T/P04/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)