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Ekrima Sabri warned on Monday of escalating dangers facing Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling on Arabs and Muslims to take urgent action to protect Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.
In statements reported by Sanad News Agency, Sabri said Al-Aqsa Mosque is facing increasingly serious threats because of continued actions by Israeli forces and settlers inside the compound.
He specifically condemned an incident last Friday in which settlers entered the mosque compound and carried out religious rituals connected to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, describing the event as dangerous and unprecedented.
According to the reports, six settlers entered the compound after afternoon prayers through the Bab al-Ghawanima gate, assaulted one of the mosque guards and moved toward the Dome of the Rock while carrying ritual bread offerings associated with the holiday.
In related remarks, Jerusalem affairs researcher Abdullah Marouf warned of possible fire hazards inside the Al-Aqsa compound because of the accumulation of dry grass in cultivated areas.
Marouf said Israeli police are preventing the Islamic Jerusalem Islamic Waqf from cutting the grass despite unusually heavy growth this year linked to seasonal rains and prolonged spring closures.
The statements come amid continued tensions surrounding access to and control over holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City.
READ: Jordan condemns Israeli seizure of properties near Al-Aqsa Mosque
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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