Palestinian Foreign Ministry Denounces Targeting of Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Al-Aqsa mosque reflects in a puddle next to a gate to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary, in Jerusalem's Old City December 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The Al-Aqsa mosque reflects in a puddle next to a gate to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary, in Jerusalem's Old City December 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Palestinian Foreign Ministry Denounces Targeting of Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Al-Aqsa mosque reflects in a puddle next to a gate to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary, in Jerusalem's Old City December 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The Al-Aqsa mosque reflects in a puddle next to a gate to the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary, in Jerusalem's Old City December 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (MOFAE) denounced on Sunday the storming of the Dome of the Rock a day after preventing the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee from conducting maintenance works in El-Marwani Mosque.

Israeli forces on Sunday broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and prevented staff from repairing marble and internal struts inside the Dome of the Rock.

Bassam Al-Hallaq, head of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee, said that a number of Israeli soldiers stormed the Dome of the Rock and threatened staff with arrest or banishment if they continued the maintenance works.

On Saturday, Israeli troops prevented the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee from conducting maintenance works in El-Marwani Mosque, he added.

For years, the Israeli authorities have been hindering several essential maintenances and repairing in Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.

In a statement on Sunday, MOFA decried the flagrant targeting of Al-Aqsa and its vicinity.

It held the occupation’s cabinet responsible for the ongoing aggression on the Mosque, which is seen as a provocation of Arab and Muslim sentiments.

The ministry warned of consequences, considering these practices as an Israeli attempt to drag the region into a religious conflict.

MOFA demanded that the specialized international organizations including UNESCO bear ethical and legal liability towards the continuous aggressions on Christian and Islamic sacred sites in Jerusalem.

The ministry urged a prompt action to protect Al-Aqsa from the plots of demolition and division, stressing that it is coordinating with the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate to reinforce efforts to protect the sacred sites namely Al-Aqsa.



At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
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At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)

At least 69 people died after a boat headed from West Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off Morocco on Dec. 19, Malian authorities said, as data showed deaths of migrants attempting to reach Spain surged to an all-time high in 2024.

The makeshift boat was carrying around 80 people when it capsized. Only 11 survived, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement on Thursday, after collecting information to reconstruct the incident.

A crisis unit has been set up to monitor the situation, it added, Reuters reported. The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach mainland Spain, has seen a surge this year, with 41,425 arrivals in January-November already exceeding last year's record 39,910.

Years of conflict in the Sahel region that includes Mali, unemployment and the impact of climate change on farming communities are among the reasons why people attempt the crossing.

One person died among 300 people who arrived on six boats on Friday on the island of El Hierro in the Canaries, according to the Red Cross.

The Atlantic route, which includes departure points in Senegal and Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco, is the world's deadliest, according to migrant aid group Walking Borders.

In its annual report released this week, the group said 9,757 migrants died at sea in 2024 trying to reach the Spanish archipelago from Africa's Atlantic coast. A record 10,457 people - or nearly 30 people a day - died attempting to reach Spain this year from all routes, according to the report.

The route departing from Mauritania, which has been particularly well used this year by migrants leaving the Sahel region, was the deadliest, accounting for 6,829 deaths.