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PA ministry warns of normalising Jewish presence as a fait accompli at Al-Aqsa Mosque

October 2, 2024 at 11:30 am

Israeli Air Forces conduct a drill in the skies over Qubbat al-Sakhra (Dome of the Rock) at Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on May 09, 2024 [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs has warned of the threat posed by the occupation regime’s Judaisation of Jerusalem, especially its normalisation of a Jewish presence presented as a fait accompli in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported. This, said the ministry, is being done through the escalation of armed incursions by Israeli occupation forces and settlers.

In its monthly report released on Tuesday covering Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Ibrahimi Mosque and other sacred sites, the ministry cited 21 incursions at Al-Aqsa Mosque with the participation of around 4,700 settlers. The report pointed out that the mosque and sanctuary have been witnessing excavations and Judaisation projects in the vicinity and beneath its foundations.

The normalisation of the Jewish presence inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Noble Sanctuary, the ministry pointed out, is a flagrant violation of the status quo in place since its occupation in 1967. Moreover, the Israeli regime’s Heritage Ministry has funded the settlers’ incursions to the tune of $545,000.

It also indicated that the Israeli occupation forces prevented the call to prayer 69 times in Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque in September. The call for the dawn prayer was banned on 19 consecutive days.

READ: Al-Aqsa sheikh warns against Israel’s elevator project at sanctuary’s western wall