The OIC’s foreign ministers have issued a warning against Israeli forces and extremist settlers’ repeated incursions into the grounds of the al-Aqsa Mosque, calling the actions a breach of international law.
Following their 18th extraordinary session in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the top diplomats of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced the ongoing Israeli provocations and violations at the sacred site as a “grave breach of the international law and unprecedented tampering with the current historical and legal status quo.”
read more: Israeli settlers broke into al-Aqsa Mosque placed restrictions on Muslims
As “acts of provocation against the Muslim nation,” they also denounced the repeated desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, other regime officials, and Knesset members.”
Wednesday saw the incursion of numerous Israeli settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque premises, with strong defense from Israeli military personnel.
Groups of radical settlers broke into the site via the Moroccan Gate, where they provocatively carried out Talmudic prayers and rituals.
Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque are located in the same compound, which is situated slightly above the Western Wall plaza.
Palestinians are incensed by the provocative act of hardline Israeli officials and settlers frequently storming the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city. Mass break-ins of this nature almost invariably occur at the instigation of temple groups supported by Tel Aviv, operating under the cover of Israeli police in al-Quds.
Visitors from the Jewish community are allowed to visit al-Aqsa, but non-Muslim worship is forbidden due to a long-standing agreement between Israel and Jordan, who are responsible for looking after the Islamic and Christian sites in al-Quds following Israel’s 1967 occupation of East al-Quds.
After a lower court ruling incited anger among Palestinians and Muslims worldwide, an Israeli court reinstated the ban on Jewish prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound back in October 2021. On October 8, Judge Aryeh Romanov of the district court in al-Quds affirmed that only Muslims are allowed to pray at the location and that Jews are not allowed to practice open worship there.
The Israeli regime killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, during an 11-day war with Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip in May 2021 as a result of the regime’s repeated acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
