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Israeli police escort Jewish visitors as they visit the al-Aqsa Mosque complex on September 17. Photo/Al Arabiya
JERUSALEM – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) condemned the raid by Israeli extremists on the al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Zionist police, in a statement on Tuesday.
The Gulf country’s Foreign Ministry said that holy sites in Jerusalem must be given full protection and called for an end to the serious and provocative violations taking place there.
The location, which is often a point of conflict between Israel and Palestine, is also revered by the Jewish community, which calls the place the Temple Mount. The al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is managed by Jordan. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site, but may not worship there.
“The ministry calls on the Israeli authorities to stop escalation, and avoid exacerbating tensions and instability in the region, affirming the UAE’s rejection of all practices that violate international legitimacy resolutions and threaten further escalation,” read a statement from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs as reported by Al Arabiya, Wednesday (20/9/2023).
The raid occurred to coincide with the Jewish tradition of Rosh Hashana or Jewish New Year on September 17.
The UAE routinely condemns Israeli actions that impact Palestinians or trigger unrest in the conflict-torn country even though trade and investment ties between the UAE and Israel have grown since the signing of the Abraham Accords agreement in 2020, under which the two countries established diplomatic ties.
Both countries commemorated the third anniversary of the agreement on September 15.
Earlier, on Monday, Saudi Arabia also issued a statement condemning the incident.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its condemnation and condemnation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque carried out by a group of extremists under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces,” according to a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report.
