Iran condemns storming of al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli minister
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned in the strongest terms the intrusion into the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of al-Quds by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and settlers.
Nasser Kan’ani in a post published on his Twitter page on Thursday warned about an international plot the Zionists have constructed to defile Muslim sanctities.
He stated that the scheme includes vile activities, including burning of copies of the Holy Qur’an and desecration of the first qibla of Muslims — the direction toward which Muslims face to offer their prayers — at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“The vicious presence of the Zionists’ cabinet minister at al-Aqsa Mosque was another measure in line with disrespecting Muslim sanctities and hurting the feelings of Muslims worldwide, and is, therefore, condemned,” Kan’ani stated.
Hamas: Intrusion into al-Aqsa Mosque provocative to all Muslims
Meanwhile, the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement denounced the intrusion, terming it a serious escalation against holy Palestinian places.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that such incidents are part of the regime’s "religious war" against Palestinians. It was an act, he said, which “provokes the feelings of the Muslim Ummah and freedom-seeking people across the world.”
The Hamas spokesman said Palestinians will defend the al-Aqsa Mosque at any cost, and will make sustained efforts to preserve the Muslim and Arab identities of al-Quds city.
“The Palestinian nation will not allow the Israeli regime to advance its aggressive conspiracies in al-Quds” Qassem said.
Earlier on Thursday, thousands of far-right Jewish settlers led by Ben-Gvir stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Old City of al-Quds. They entered the sacred site under Israeli police protection.
Israeli officials and settlers regularly make such moves that infuriate Palestinians. The settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa is permitted, but as part of a decades-old agreement between Jordan – the custodian of Islamic and Christian sites in al-Quds – and Israel in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited.
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