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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)
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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.

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Arab World

Türkiye: Egypt Defense, Security Ties Bolster Regional Stability

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler receives his Egyptian counterpart, Ashraf Salem Zaher, on July 13. (Turkish Defense Ministry/X)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler receives his Egyptian counterpart, Ashraf Salem Zaher, on July 13. (Turkish Defense Ministry/X)
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Türkiye: Egypt Defense, Security Ties Bolster Regional Stability

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler receives his Egyptian counterpart, Ashraf Salem Zaher, on July 13. (Turkish Defense Ministry/X)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler receives his Egyptian counterpart, Ashraf Salem Zaher, on July 13. (Turkish Defense Ministry/X)

Türkiye emphasized that strengthening defense and security cooperation with Egypt, based on mutual trust and shared interests, would help advance peace and reinforce regional stability and security.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said a letter of intent on defense cooperation, signed during Egyptian Minister of Defense and Military Production Ashraf Salem Zaher’s visit to Ankara on Monday, reflected both countries’ determination to place their defense and security partnership on an institutional footing.

Ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk said on Thursday the document also reflected a strong desire to deepen ties rooted in history, while opening new areas of cooperation that could support peace, stability and security across the region.

Türkiye and Egypt share a strong legacy shaped by deep historical and cultural ties, Akturk said, adding that recent high-level visits had given military cooperation fresh momentum.

Cooperation expands

Akturk said contacts between military delegations had expanded as the two sides sought to deepen defense and security dialogue.

He said concrete steps had also been taken in military training, joint operations and defense industries.

Zaher’s visit, his first since taking office in February, was the first by an Egyptian defense minister since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Türkiye on May 8, 2013, while serving as defense minister.

It followed a late-April 2024 visit to Ankara by former Egyptian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Osama Askar, the first senior Egyptian military official to travel to Türkiye after relations began a gradual return to normal following years of tension and stagnation since the fall of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt in 2013.

Egypt’s current Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Ahmed Khalifa, made an official visit to Türkiye on May 8, 2025, when the two countries held their first high-level military dialogue.

They agreed to hold the dialogue annually at the level of the two chiefs of staff.

The talks focused on strengthening military cooperation, particularly in training and the exchange of expertise.

Egypt and Türkiye later signed a military cooperation agreement during Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Cairo on Feb. 4.

The visit also included the second meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council, following its first session in Ankara during Sisi’s visit on Sept. 4, 2024.

Akturk also cited exercises held in June, first in Egypt and then in Türkiye, with participation by the air force.

He said they had significantly improved interoperability between the two armed forces, strengthened their joint operational capabilities, and expanded the exchange of expertise.

Talks in Ankara on Monday between Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Zaher covered bilateral defense and security issues, as well as ways to deepen cooperation, Akturk said.

The two sides signed the letter of intent at the end of the meeting.

Defense industry push

Zaher and his delegation also met Haluk Gorgun, head of Türkiye’s Defense Industries Agency, to discuss defense industry cooperation and the development of joint capabilities.

A letter of intent was signed during the meeting.

Zaher also visited Turkish defense electronics company Aselsan, where Chief Executive Ahmet Akyol received him.

The two sides discussed the company’s office in Egypt and new opportunities for defense industry cooperation.

The Egyptian delegation also visited the Ozdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center, where it was briefed on Turkish drone manufacturing technology during a meeting with Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of Baykar, maker of the Bayraktar drone.

Turkish sources told some media outlets that Ankara had presented plans for joint production and technology transfers covering unmanned ground and aerial systems, armored combat vehicles, warships, naval platforms, electronic warfare technology and ammunition of various calibers.

The sources said the most significant step in the aviation talks was Egypt’s agreement to join Türkiye’s fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet production program.

They also said the two countries had made notable progress on plans for a local production line in Egypt for Bayraktar TB2 drones.

The project would aim to meet the needs of Egypt’s armed forces and turn the country into a regional production hub serving global export markets, particularly in Africa, the sources said.

Strategic ties

Egypt’s ambassador to Ankara, Wael Badawi, said the strategic partnership between Egypt and Türkiye rested on longstanding historical, cultural, commercial and humanitarian ties.

Speaking at a ceremony in Ankara on Tuesday marking Egypt’s national day and the anniversary of the July 23, 1952 revolution, Badawi said cooperation spanned several strategic sectors.

These included defense and military industries, construction, tourism, healthcare, transport, energy, mining, and air and maritime links.

Badawi said Egypt and Türkiye would continue to coordinate on regional and international issues, with the Palestinian issue leading the way, while supporting efforts to end the war in Iran and strengthen regional stability.

The deepening military relationship has stirred concern among some parties, particularly Israel and Greece.

Greek newspaper Kathimerini reflected those concerns, saying the recent growth in Turkish-Egyptian defense ties was causing unease in Greece.

In a report titled “Türkiye and Egypt Draw Closer on Defense,” the newspaper examined Zaher’s talks with the head of Türkiye’s Defense Industries Agency and the letter of intent signed at the close of the meeting.

It said the document could lay the groundwork for broader defense industry cooperation between the two countries.

The report also highlighted Zaher’s meetings in Türkiye, noting that Egypt was seeking to become a center for drone production, a leading export of Türkiye’s defense industry.

Kathimerini said the rapprochement did not currently pose a direct threat to Greek interests, but added to concerns at a time of shifting geopolitical balances across the region.

Arab World

Iraq Investigates Foiled Attempt to Smuggle Missiles, Drones into Syria

A member of Syria’s security forces holds parts of a drone smuggled from Iraq and seized at the al-Tanf border crossing. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
A member of Syria’s security forces holds parts of a drone smuggled from Iraq and seized at the al-Tanf border crossing. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
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Iraq Investigates Foiled Attempt to Smuggle Missiles, Drones into Syria

A member of Syria’s security forces holds parts of a drone smuggled from Iraq and seized at the al-Tanf border crossing. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
A member of Syria’s security forces holds parts of a drone smuggled from Iraq and seized at the al-Tanf border crossing. (Syrian Interior Ministry)

Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced on Thursday that it had formed an investigative committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the foiled attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons and missiles across the Iraqi border into Syria.

Sources familiar with the matter said the Iraqi government intends to hold officials at a border crossing with Syria accountable if they are found to have facilitated the shipment's passage into Syria.

The developments come amid growing scrutiny of cross-border overland freight traffic between the two countries, including routes used to transport goods and fuel, as well as heightened monitoring of weapons supply routes to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The Joint Operations Command said the committee was formed under an urgent directive from armed forces commander-in-chief Ali al-Zaidi and included security agencies and specialists to investigate the operation.

Baghdad would coordinate with Damascus to establish what happened and hold accountable any party found to have been negligent, it said.

The measures were aimed at strengthening security along the shared border and preventing Iraqi territory from being used for activities that threaten national security or regional stability, the statement added.

The Iraqi announcement came hours after Syrian authorities said they had intercepted a shipment of weapons and missiles at the Syrian-Iraqi border.

The cargo was hidden inside an oil tanker and, according to the Syrian account, was intended for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted an Interior Ministry source as saying specialized units had seized what it described as a shipment of advanced weapons entering Syrian territory.

The source said the cargo appeared to be bound for the Lebanese group.

Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports said an inspection at the al-Tanf border crossing uncovered large quantities of missiles, weapons, and drones inside an oil tanker heading to Banias.

Weapons hidden in an oil tanker

Iraqi security sources said the tanker left Iraq about nine days earlier after being officially registered as carrying fuel.

It completed customs procedures and was sealed before crossing the border, they said.

The tanker was moving as part of Iraqi fuel traffic to Syria, including shipments linked to supplying the Banias refinery with crude oil or petroleum products under commercial arrangements between the two countries.

The sources said fuel tankers could be harder to inspect than ordinary cargo, particularly when authorities relied on conventional screening methods.

The investigation would determine how the shipment passed through Iraqi checkpoints, including the al-Waleed border crossing, before it was seized at al-Tanf on the Syrian side, they said.

An Iraqi government source said the authorities were considering action against officials at al-Waleed if investigators found evidence of collusion or negligence.

Media reports citing sources said Syrian authorities did not inform Iraq of the seizure until after they had completed their investigation.

The reports said the detained driver had given statements indicating that employees at al-Waleed helped shipments pass through to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Sensitive frontier

The Iraqi-Syrian border is one of the region’s most sensitive security zones.

Stretching more than 600 km, it cuts through vast desert areas that have long complicated efforts to monitor the movement of people and goods.

Armed groups and smuggling networks have used the area in recent years to move fighters, weapons and prohibited materials, particularly during the war against ISIS, which controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017.

Although Baghdad and Damascus have moved to strengthen border cooperation, smuggling remains a complex security challenge because of the terrain and the number of armed groups operating near the crossings.

The seizure comes as Iraq seeks to balance stronger economic ties with Syria with its security and diplomatic commitments to the United States and other Western countries that have imposed sanctions on networks linked to armed groups in the region.

The disclosure also coincided with Iraqi financial institutions beginning to enforce a new package of U.S. sanctions targeting financing and logistical support networks linked to Hezbollah.

The measures included asset freezes and restrictions on several individuals and companies.

Hezbollah has not commented on the Syrian allegations.

Iraqi authorities have yet to release final findings or identify those behind the attempted shipment.

The case comes amid continued international pressure on supply routes used by Iran-aligned armed groups, including overland corridors running from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon.

Iraqi and Syrian investigations are continuing into how the tanker crossed the border, who organized the shipment and how the fuel route to the Banias refinery was used.

Banias is economically important to both countries. It is home to one of Syria’s main oil refineries and provides access to the Mediterranean.

Iraq has recently sought to expand options for moving oil and petroleum products through Syria as part of efforts to diversify transport routes and reduce reliance on a single export corridor.

Reuters previously reported that Baghdad was seeking to increase oil shipments to Banias by road through Syria under existing agreements between the two countries.

Iraqi officials say the routes could bring economic gains, but border security and logistical concerns may require tighter controls on freight traffic.

Arab World

Lebanese Army Steps Up Security in the South Ahead of Technical Talks with Israel

A Lebanese soldier stands at a newly established checkpoint in the southern town of Froun, which is included in the proposed pilot zone. (AP)
A Lebanese soldier stands at a newly established checkpoint in the southern town of Froun, which is included in the proposed pilot zone. (AP)
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Lebanese Army Steps Up Security in the South Ahead of Technical Talks with Israel

A Lebanese soldier stands at a newly established checkpoint in the southern town of Froun, which is included in the proposed pilot zone. (AP)
A Lebanese soldier stands at a newly established checkpoint in the southern town of Froun, which is included in the proposed pilot zone. (AP)

The Lebanese army has stepped up military and security measures in an area proposed for inclusion in a pilot zone in southern Lebanon, announcing deployments across towns in the districts of Bint Jbeil, Tyre and Nabatieh.

The measures come amid an Israeli military escalation and the start of construction of a line of permanent positions inside the security zone Israel occupies in southern Lebanon, Israel’s Maariv newspaper reported.

The Lebanese army said it had deployed patrols, checkpoints and observation posts in Froun, Ghandouriyeh, Qalawayh, Burj Qalawayh and Kfar Dounin in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr in the Nabatieh district and Srifa in the Tyre district.

It also released photographs showing military vehicles and personnel deployed in the towns.

The measures were introduced ahead of a technical meeting scheduled to take place by video conference on Friday, with representatives of the Lebanese, Israeli and US militaries expected to discuss implementation mechanisms for the pilot zone and determine which towns it would cover.

The proposed zone could include Zawtar al-Sharqiya, which is occupied by Israel, and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, part of which is under Israeli occupation. It could also cover Froun, Ghandouriyeh, Srifa, Qalawayh and Burj Qalawayh, where Israel maintains fire control but has no forces stationed.

Airstrikes

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued its violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Israeli warplanes carried out two strikes on Thursday afternoon targeting the outskirts of the al-Deir neighborhood in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, firing several air-to-surface missiles.

The explosions echoed across the Nabatieh area, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air.

Two people were killed in the strikes, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The Israeli military also set fire to several homes and plots of land on the outskirts of Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district.

Later in the afternoon, an Israeli drone carried out a guided-missile strike on the Ali al-Taher woodland on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

At dawn, Israeli warplanes had also struck the outskirts of Baraachit and Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district.