Arab foreign ministers adopted a statement drafted by Egypt and Palestine on clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that demands the Security Council to end Israeli practices that “aim to alter the situation on the ground” and undermine the possibility of negotiations, Youm7 reported Monday.
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Meanwhile, Israeli police arrested three Palestinian women outside al-Aqsa mosque compound, as they attempted to enter the compound after they were banned entry by Israeli police.
“We note with concern allegations that Israeli security forces may, in a few cases, have used excessive force against Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem in recent days”, he stated.
The unrest occurred on the first day of Sukkot, a weeklong festival that celebrates the fall harvest and commemorates the wandering of the ancient Israelites through the desert following the exodus from Egypt.
Also on Sunday, clashes erupted across the compound after Israeli police stormed the holy site and fired rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades at Palestinian protesters. “It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount”, State Department spokesman John Kirby reportedly said.
Israeli forces have detained at least 11 Palestinian children during a series of raids on a number of houses across the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem).
A Muslim mob led by an Arab-Israeli lawmaker verbally attacked Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, as violence from the holy site spilled over in to the West Bank.
Palestinians, however, say the recent Israeli incursions on the mosque, where access has been regularly restricted to Muslims, are unprecedented and are part of an attempt to permanently block access to the holy site.
Non-Muslims were prohibited on Sunday, but on Monday, Police said 24 Jews and 450 tourists visited the site.
On Tuesday, Palestinians hurled stones at a taxi just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, lightly wounding two American tourists, police said.
A few extremist Jewish groups have gone so far as to call for the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque so that a Jewish temple might be built in its place.
Israeli soldiers have attacked and injured dozens of Palestinians in rallies held against Tel Aviv’s military assaults on the al-Aqsa Mosque, which started on September 13.
Al-Aqsa has always been a flashpoint between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
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Israel seized East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the global community. Netanyahu also said he will urge the Palestinians to stop inciting unrest on Temple Mount.
