RAMALLAH, March 4 (NNN-WAFA) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities’ arbitrary ban on the entry of Waqf officials, guards, and worshippers, to al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam where Muslims are supposed to worship freely anywhere on its premises.
The ministry slammed the Israeli entry bans as a dangerous escalation aimed at preventing Muslim worshipers’ access to the mosque and undermining the role and work of the Muslim Waqf (endowment) department.
The ministry in a statement said Israel attempts to empty the mosque of Palestinian citizens and Muslim worshipers, which it stressed come as part of its plans to enforce the temporal division of al–Aqsa until it is spatially divided.
The ministry warned of the repercussions of these Israeli ‘arbitrary’ measures against al-Aqsa mosque, which it stated, comes within the framework of the Judaization and altering of the character and identity of the city of Jerusalem.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli police handed today the Chairman of Awqaf Council in Jerusalem, Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab, an order banning him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for 40 days. — NNN-WAFA
