Egypt condemns Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, calls for protecting Muslim worshippers

CAIRO – 8 August 2022: Egypt has condemned the Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound under the protection of the police, calling for protecting Muslim worshippers.

In a statement on Sunday, Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the storming of the mosque is a violation of its sanctity and provokes the feelings of Muslims.

The ministry also affirmed that such practices represent a violation of the status quo in which Al-Aqsa Mosque is a purely Islamic endowment, said the statement.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that such actions further inflame the situation,” the statement said, calling for a halt to all provocative acts and for taking measures to protect the current historic and legal status quo of Jerusalem and its Arab Islamic and Christian sanctities.

The Arab League also condemned on Sunday the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, blaming the Israeli government for helping extremist groups, including Knesset members, to inflame the situation in the Palestinian territories in such way.

AL Spokesman Gamal Roshdy stressed that the Israeli violations in Jerusalem come at a time the Gaza Strip suffers from brute aggression, which provokes feelings of the Palestinian people.

The condemnations come as hundreds of Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli police stormed the mosque’s compound on Sunday and performed Jewish rituals across its courtyards, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Groups of Israeli settlers escorted by extremist Israeli rabbi Yehuda Glick broke into the holy site in groups in the early morning, WAFA reported.

The settlers were reportedly confronted by a handful of Palestinian Muslim worshipers who held a night vigil inside the compound in an attempt to foil the Israeli raids into the holy site.