On Wednesday, the Arab League vehemently denounced an Israeli police raid on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, stating that it endangered regional stability.
The League denounced “crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenceless Muslim worshippers” in the mosque in a statement following an emergency meeting on the incident.
In addition, it warned that the dawn raid ran the potential of “starting a spiral of violence that affects security and peace in the area and the world.”
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary general of the Arab League, had already denounced the raid in a different statement.
If they continue, he said, “the radical attitudes that guide the Israeli government’s policies will result in protracted conflicts with the Palestinians.”
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “extremists” who barricaded themselves inside the mosque with firearms, stones, and pyrotechnics were to blame for the incident.
According to witnesses, Israeli police entered Al-Aqsa Mosque again on Wednesday, despite a US appeal to defuse tensions and hours after arresting and removing more than 350 people during a police raid at the compound.
In the second incident, police entered the enclosure late at night and attempted to eject worshippers by shooting rubber bullets and shock grenades, according to officials of the Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed organisation managing all.
According to witnesses, worshippers flung objects at the cops. Six persons, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, were hurt.
Police alleged in a statement that numerous children had attempted to barricade themselves inside the mosque by bringing rocks and firecrackers inside. Yet, according to the Waqf, police entered the mosque before the end of the services.
“Israel’s incursion into Al-Aqsa mosque, its assault on worshippers, is a slap to previous American efforts which aimed to create calm and stability throughout the month of Ramadan,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Less than 24 hours prior, police conducted a raid at the mosque in an attempt to disperse what they alleged were masked agitators who had barricaded themselves inside after unsuccessful attempts to do so through conversation.
