Arab World Condemns Israeli Forces’ Raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli security forces remove Palestinian Muslim worshippers sitting on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, early on April 5, 2023 during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)
Israeli security forces remove Palestinian Muslim worshippers sitting on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, early on April 5, 2023 during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)
TT
20

Arab World Condemns Israeli Forces’ Raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli security forces remove Palestinian Muslim worshippers sitting on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, early on April 5, 2023 during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)
Israeli security forces remove Palestinian Muslim worshippers sitting on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, early on April 5, 2023 during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)

The Arab world condemned on Wednesday a raid by Israeli forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry "expressed the Kingdom’s condemnation and rejection of the blatant storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound", saying "these practices undermine peace efforts."

"Such actions violate international principles and norms regarding respect for religious sanctities," it added in a statement.

It also reaffirmed supporting all efforts aimed at ending the occupation and reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause.

The United Arab Emirates strongly condemned the raid, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The UAE called on Israeli authorities to halt escalation and avoid exacerbating tension and instability in the region," it said.

The Arab League also condemned the raid.

"The extremist approaches that control the policy of the Israeli government will lead to widespread confrontations with the Palestinians if they are not put to an end," League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.

Israeli police stormed into the mosque early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinian youths who hurled firecrackers at them in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season.

Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes.

The fighting, coming as Muslims mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan and Jews prepare to begin the Passover festival on Wednesday evening, raised fears of a wider conflagration. Similar clashes two years ago erupted into a bloody 11-day war between Israel and the ruling Hamas group in Gaza.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that dozens of worshippers who were spending the night praying were injured in the police raid. The Israeli military said one soldier was shot in a separate incident in the occupied West Bank.

Egypt condemned the storming of the mosque, saying such "vile scenes and repeated Israeli violations of sacred sites" incite all Palestinians and Muslims.

A Foreign Ministry statement called on Israeli authorities to immediately cease their violations that are "terrorizing worshippers, who had sought peace in the house of God during the holy month of Ramadan."

It held Israel responsible for this "dangerous escalation that undermines efforts to restore calm that Egypt and its regional and international partners have been pursuing."

It also urged the international community to assume its responsibilities and put a stop to such violations and avert more instability and tensions in the region.

Qatar strongly condemned the raid, saying such "barbaric practices were a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation of holy sites and an extension of attempts to Judaize Jerusalem."

They are a violation of international laws and resolutions, and provoke over a billion Muslims around the world, significantly during Ramadan, said a Foreign Ministry statement.

It added that international law still views Jerusalem as an occupied city, and its worshippers are protected by international and humanitarian treaties.

It blamed Israel for the attack, warning against attempts to introduce any changes to the historic and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Jerusalem.

It held Israel fully responsible for the cycle of violence that will ensure from its systematic policies against the rights of the Palestinian people. It also called on the international community to act immediately to put an end to these policies.

The ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm stance in support of the Palestinian people and their rights in practicing their religious faith without restrictions and in establishing an independent state according to the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Jordan strongly condemned the Israeli raid and attack on worshippers.

It demanded that Israel immediately pull out its forces and police from the Al-Aqsa compound.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the storming of the Aqsa and attacks on worshippers are "flagrant violations". Israel must cease its violations of international humanitarian law and all measures that are aimed at altering the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.

It warned of the consequences of this dangerous escalation, holding Isarel responsible for the safety of the worshippers.

The mosque sits on a sensitive hilltop compound holy to both Jews and Muslims. Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam and is typically packed with worshippers during Ramadan.

Overnight, the scene of festive holiday-makers picnicking and praying at the holy site transformed into one of violence, as Israeli police stormed into the mosque, firing tear gas and stun grenades that shattered stained-glass windows and fiercely beating worshippers with clubs and rifle butts, witnesses said.

The spot, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is also the holiest site in Judaism, revered as the location of the biblical Jewish temples. The conflicting claims fuel constant tensions that have spilled over to violence numerous times in the past.

Since Ramadan began March 22, scores of Muslim worshippers have been trying to stay overnight in the mosque, a practice that is typically permitted only during the last 10 days of the monthlong holiday. Israeli police have entered nightly to evict the worshippers, stirring tensions with young Palestinians who demand to pray at the holy site until dawn.

Tensions over control of the holy site have been heightened by calls from Jewish ultranationalists to carry out a ritual slaughter of a goat in the compound, imitating the ancient ritual sacrifice executed on Passover in biblical times.

Israel bars ritual slaughters on the site, but calls by Jewish extremists to revive the practice, including offers of cash rewards to anyone who even attempts to bring an animal into the compound, have amplified fears among Muslims that Israel is plotting to take over the site.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is committed to preserving the status quo at the compound.

After some 80,000 worshippers attended evening prayers at the mosque on Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque overnight to pray. Worshippers said that after they refused to leave, Israeli police moved into the mosque, descending on Palestinians with batons.

Israeli police said they moved in after "several law-breaking youths and masked agitators" brought fireworks, sticks and stones and barricaded themselves into the mosque. Police said the youths chanted violent slogans and locked the front doors.



UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
TT
20

UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met in Damascus on Saturday with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the restoration of relations after 14 years of tension during Syria's conflict and Assad family rule.

Syria has been improving relations with Western countries following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December in an offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

Al-Sharaa’s office said Lammy and the president discussed mutual relations and ways of boosting cooperation and the latest regional and international developments. Lammy later met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, state media reported.

A statement issued by Britain's foreign office said the visit showed London's commitment to support Syria as the new government seeks to rebuild the country's economy, deliver an inclusive political transition and forge a path to justice for the victims of the Assad government.

It added that there will be new UK funding to assist with the removal of Assad-era chemical weapons and provide urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, to bolster UK and Middle East security and tackle irregular migration. The statement said the British government wants to ensure that the ISIS group's territorial defeat “endures, and they can never resurge.”

ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it planned attacks worldwide. It was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled.

The statement said Britain's support for Syria is set to continue, with the additional 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) package announced Saturday. It will provide urgent humanitarian aid to Syrians, support Syria’s longer-term recovery through education and livelihoods, and support countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.

This handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on July 5, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the presidential palace in Baabda. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

In April, the British government lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after Assad's ouster. Weeks earlier, the UK had dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending many American economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa.

Syria’s new leaders have been struggling to rebuild the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war that has killed half a million people. In recent months, al-Sharaa visited oil-rich regional countries and France in May in his first visit to the Europe Union.

Also on Saturday, Lammy met in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and they discussed the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border following the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

A statement issued by Aoun's office, quoted the Lebanese leader as telling Lammy that Beirut plans to raise the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel to 10,000. Aoun added that the only armed sides on the Lebanese side of the border will be Lebanon's national army and UN peacekeepers.