Qatar has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and settlers
The storming of the holy Al Aqsa Mosque is a violation of the international law, Qatari authorities said in a statement on Monday, as tensions continued to mount in Jerusalem.
“The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of
the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque carried out by the Israeli occupation forces
and a number of settlers, considering it a violation of the international law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read.
The official statement was released just hours after Israeli settlers, backed by occupation soldiers, raided the holy site to mark Rosh HaShanah, or the Jewish New Year.
This year, the occasion is being celebrated from 25-27 September, and far-right extremist Jewish organisations have called for intensifying incursions at the Muslim site.
Muslim authorities at the mosque noted worshippers were participating in morning prayers when Israeli police stormed the compound to make way for settlers wishing to perform Talmudic rituals.
Shocking footage that emerged online showed Israeli soldiers manhandling elderly Palestinians, knocking one man unconscious.
In its statement, Qatar described the move as “a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world,” warning that systematic Israeli attempts to change the historical and legal status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque will lead to a destructive escalation and renewed violence.”
Authorities in Doha also urged the international community to take urgent action to stop the repeated Israeli attacks against Palestinians, and echoed Qatar’s stance “on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement noted.
Qatar is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.
During his speech at this year’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani highlighted key issues concerning the Middle East region, chief of which was Palestine.
Amir Tamim renewed the need to implement international resolutions and press Israel to end its illegal occupation.
“The Palestinian cause is still unresolved, and in light of the failure to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy and with the persistent change of facts on the ground the settler occupation has pursued a fait accompli policy,” said Sheikh Tamim.
The leader renewed Qatar’s full solidarity with Palestinians “in their aspiration for justice” while calling on the Security Council to “compel Israel to end the Palestinian territories’ occupation.”
