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.



Egypt, Greece Agree to Boost Ties, Back Gaza Reconstruction Plan 

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
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Egypt, Greece Agree to Boost Ties, Back Gaza Reconstruction Plan 

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 

Greece and Egypt signed a "strategic partnership" deal on Wednesday as they seek to step up political coordination to help safeguard stability in the Eastern Mediterranean amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

"Our bilateral cooperation is based on political, economic, and cultural ties, which are deeply rooted in history and defined by our strong commitment to the values of peace and the full respect of international law," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint statement.

The two officials met during the first meeting of the Supreme Cooperation Council, a body they agreed to set up more than a year ago to improve ties.

The two leaders reaffirmed their joint stance over the need to respect international law to promote peace in Gaza.

"The first priority is for hostilities to stop and restore the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians," Mitsotakis said in joint statements with Sisi. He said Greece supported an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza once a ceasefire was achieved.

Migration also topped the agenda of bilateral talks as European governments have long been worried about the risk of instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate.

Egypt largely shut off irregular migration from its north coast in 2016, but the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant arrivals, mostly from Afghanistan and Egypt.

The European Union last year announced a 7.4 billion euro ($8.40 billion) funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt, in part of a push to stem migrant flows from Egypt to Europe. Last month, the EU's executive arm included Egypt on a list of "safe countries" where failed asylum seekers could be returned.