Condemnation of Settler Provocations and Al-Aqsa Incursions as Israel Closes Ibrahimi Mosque

Hundreds of settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the third consecutive day amid Israeli restrictions on Palestinians, coinciding with the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque for three days amid warnings of the dangers of Israeli escalation in the West Bank and the replication of what occurred in the Gaza Strip there.

The director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Moutaz Abu Sunine, condemned the Israeli occupation’s announcement of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque from yesterday until tomorrow under the pretext of securing a celebration by settlers for the so-called Jewish “Feast of Tabernacles,” viewing it as a blatant violation of its sanctity and a provocative assault on Muslims’ right to access their places of worship. Occupation forces tightened their military measures and closed all military checkpoints and electronic gates leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque to secure the celebrations of settlers in the mosque and its courtyards.

In parallel, Israeli authorities closed the Bab al-Maghariba (Moroccan Gate), one of the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, yesterday after 1,731 settlers stormed its courtyards for the third consecutive day, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. Local sources stated that settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in successive groups, under heavy protection by the Israeli police, and performed Talmudic rituals and prayers in its courtyards, amid stringent military measures in the vicinity of the mosque and the Old City.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s strongest condemnation and disapproval of the continued provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation authorities and a group of extremist settlers against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, violating its sanctity and religious and historical status under the protection of forces affiliated with the occupation authorities. It reiterated its rejection of these violations of international law and their nature as a provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide.

In a statement, the ministry said: “The Kingdom condemns Israeli statements regarding the annexation of areas in southern Lebanon and areas extending to the ‘Yellow Line’ in the Gaza Strip, and affirms its rejection of any Israeli expansionist attempt, emphasizing the right of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

For its part, Turkey strongly condemned the incursion of groups of Israeli extremists into the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs renewed in a statement its call for the international community to take deterrent measures against the occupation’s practices that violate the historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The ministry affirmed that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims, through its violations and provocations regarding Islamic holy sites, to inflame tensions in the region and undermine peace and stability efforts.

Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yamahi also condemned in a statement the continued incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, attempts to bring prayer books and Jewish religious rituals into it, and the tightening of restrictions and closures on Palestinians in the West Bank, considering this a systematic escalation and a blatant violation of the existing historical and legal status of the holy sites and the rights of the Palestinian people. He also condemned the inflammatory statements by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for launching a war on the West Bank, repeating what happened in the Gaza Strip, and dismantling the Palestinian Authority. He affirmed that these statements represent an explicit call to expand the circle of aggression and destruction and a direct threat to detonate the situation in the West Bank. He also warned that turning the West Bank into another version of the Gaza Strip would have catastrophic repercussions on the Palestinian people and the entire region, calling for urgent and firm international action before the situation gets out of control.

Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said that Amsterdam deeply regrets the Israeli “unnecessary” decision to revoke the accreditation of its diplomats working in the occupied West Bank. A spokesperson for Berendsen quoted him as saying, “I am deeply sorry for this unnecessary decision,” which came in response to The Hague’s decision to suspend the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The minister clarified that the suspension of imports stemmed from a “commitment under international law not to contribute to an illegal situation, namely the illegal settlements.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had announced two days ago that Dutch officials in the West Bank have a seven-day deadline to hand over their diplomatic documents issued by Israel.