Arab League to hold emergency meeting over Zionist troops’ raid on al-Aqsa Mosque
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The Arab League said it would hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon over the Zionist occupation forces’ raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al Quds.
Jordan had called for the meeting in coordination with Egypt and Palestinian officials.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jordan’s foreign ministry reaffirmed that efforts on the Arab level are ongoing to stop “the Israeli violations that are a flagrant violation to international humanitarian law.”
The League had earlier condemned the attack, with Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit saying in a statement: “The extremist approaches that control the policy of the Israeli government will lead to widespread confrontations with the Palestinians if they are not put to an end.”
It added that such practices aim to “alter the historical and legal status of al Quds.”
Algeria, for its part, condemned, in the strongest terms, the storming of the Al-Aqsa mosque by the Zionist occupation forces, assaulting worshipers inside, preventing ambulances from reaching the injured and evacuating the worshippers in Al-Qibli prayer hall, imposing restrictions on the mosque’s gates and preventing Palestinians from entering.
“Algeria condemns, in the strongest terms, the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Zionist occupation forces and the attacks against the worshipers and defenders of the mosque. These barbaric criminal practices constitute a flagrant violation of all international laws and regulations,” the statement read.
“Algeria calls on the international community, in particular the Security Council, to assume its responsibilities to put an end to these criminal practices which constitute a serious escalation and a provocation for all Muslims, especially in this holy month”, according to the same source, which added: “Algeria reaffirms its constant position in favor of the just Palestinian cause and the right of the brotherly Palestinian people to the establishment of their independent state with El-Quds as its capital”.
The Zionist occupation forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque in El Quds’ Old City early Wednesday. At least 12 Palestinians were injured and 400 others arrested and remain in the Zionist custody, according to Palestinian officials. They are being held at a police station in Atarot in occupied East El Quds.
Palestinian witnesses said Zionist forces used excessive force including stun grenades and tear gas, causing suffocation injuries to the worshippers, and beatings with batons and rifles.
