Israeli minister’s proposal to build synagogue inside Aqsa Mosque escalates tensions, warns UN
Global condemnations have poured in after the remarks by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir about his plan to build a synagogue at the Al-Asqa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
The United Nations roundly denounced the remarks, with spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying, “These types of statements are highly counterproductive, to say the least. They risk inflaming a situation which is already bone dry.”
At a news conference on Monday, Dujarric highlighted the sensitivity surrounding the status of holy sites in the city of al-Quds, stating, there is a status quo agreed to the parties for the holy sites in the city “that must be respected by all.”
He urged adherence to the agreement, in actions as well as public statements, to avoid further escalation of tensions.
The UN joined Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in publicly denouncing Ben-Gvir.
Earlier, the far-right Israeli minister claimed that Jews have the right to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that he would build a synagogue at the site.
“If I could do what I wanted, a synagogue would also be established on the Temple Mount,” the extremist Israeli minister, who has a long record of making inflammatory statements, told Israel's Army Radio on Monday morning.
OIC condemns Ben-Gvir’s remarks
Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned in the strongest terms the statements made by Ben Gvir regarding plans to establish a Jewish synagogue inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The OIC said in a statement that it considers the “statements of the extremist minister” and the “continued storming and desecration of the courtyards of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque” by Israeli settlers and ministers to be “a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international law.”
“The city of al-Quds is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and the capital of the State of Palestine,” the intergovernmental organization noted, emphasizing that “all decisions and measures taken by the occupying Israeli regime aimed at Judaization of the occupied city of al-Quds have no legal effect”.
The OIC also said it held Israel “fully responsible” for any fallout from Ben-Gvir’s remarks and Israel’s “systematic violations and attacks that constitute a provocation to the feelings of Muslims all over the world.”
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims.
Under an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of the regime’s occupation of al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the holy compound is prohibited. But the ban is a mere phrase and, in action, circumstances have been against Muslims.
Ben-Gvir’s controversial remarks about the al-Aqsa Mosque compound come as the regime keeps its bloody war machine running in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed at least 40,476 Palestinians in Gaza since early October. Another 93,647 Palestinians are also injured.
The barbarous campaign began after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched an unprecedented military operation into the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories near Gaza.
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