Tensions in Jerusalem: Jordan Calls for Emergency Meeting of Arab League
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by i24 News
An aerial view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Jordan’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned “Israeli aggression” after riots on the Temple Mount on Tuesday night.
“Israeli aggression is unacceptable and its purpose is to change the historical and legal status of Jerusalem,” Amman said, demanding an emergency Arab League meeting.
“We are taking all measures to stop the dangerous Israeli escalation that threatens the region,” the ministry continued.
Israeli police announced on Wednesday that they had arrested more than 350 people during violent clashes with rioters who barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. These clashes occurred as Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and Jews prepare to celebrate Passover starting Wednesday evening, in a particularly tense period between Israelis and Palestinians since the beginning of the year.
In the Gaza Strip, the terrorist movement Hamas called on Palestinians “to go en masse to the Al-Aqsa mosque to defend it,” denouncing an “unprecedented crime” by Israeli forces. Rockets were fired overnight towards Israeli territory leading to a response from the Israeli army.
Iran denounced “the brutal attack of the Zionist regime… (which) shows to the world once again the criminal nature of this regime.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement criticizing Israel. “We condemn the Israeli security forces raiding Al-Aqsa mosque, intervening in the Qibla Masjid and detaining many Palestinian civilians by violating the sanctity of the Haram al-Sharif and the historical status quo since last night,” the statement read, adding that “attacks” against worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan are “in no way acceptable.”
Ankara also expressed concern over the “escalation that has already spread to the region,” namely the Gaza Strip, and urged the Israeli government to “immediately cease all provocations, actions and attacks that may lead to a further escalation of tensions in the region,” according to the statement.
