Arab League to hold emergency meeting over Israeli troops’ raid on al-Aqsa Mosque

The Arab League said it would hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon over an Israeli police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Jordan had called for the meeting in coordination with Egypt and Palestinian officials.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jordan’s foreign ministry reaffirmed that efforts on the Arab level are ongoing to stop “Israeli violations that are a flagrant violation to international humanitarian law.”

It added that such practices aim to “alter the historical and legal status of Jerusalem.”

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Israeli police attacked dozens of worshipers in Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said seven Palestinians sustained wounds from rubber-tipped bullets and beatings in clashes with Israeli police at the compound.

It added that Israeli forces were preventing its medics from reaching the mosque.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the raid which they described as blatant.

The Kingdom denounced storming the mosque and voiced its rejection of these practices “that undermine peace efforts and contradict international principles in respect of religious sanctities.”

“These criminal brutal acts are a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation against holy sites,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Gulf Cooperation Council also denounced the raid.

Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, the GCC’s secretary general, said the raid is a “provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide,” and goes against international laws in respecting religious sanctuaries.

Al-Budaiwi said that the continuous violations exacerbate tension and signal a “dangerous direction that Israel bears responsibility for all its serious consequences.”

Seperately on Wednesday, Turkey denounced the clashes that erupted inside the mosque as “unacceptable,” saying they violated its “sacred” character.

“We condemn these attacks,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on the margins of a NATO gathering in Brussels.

With Reuters

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