CAIRO – Egypt on Friday condemned in the strongest terms the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque and attack on Palestinian worshippers by Israeli police.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called on the Israeli authorities to honor their responsibilities under international law by providing the necessary protection for Palestinian civilians and respecting their right to perform their religious rituals.
The ministry also urged Israel to stop any actions that violate the sanctity of Al Aqsa, the third holiest Muslim shrine and the holy month of Ramadan, expressing rejection of all Israeli attempts to alter the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of Al Quds and obliterate its historical and legal status.
“Egypt vehemently refuses any illegal practices and acts that target the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinians,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.
Condemning the Israeli settlement policy, he said the building of new Israeli settlements and the expansion of existing ones and the confiscation of Palestinian lands and eviction of Palestinians from lands that are rightfully theirs breach international law, undermine all chances of realizing the two-state solution and threaten regional security and stability.
Hafez strongly denounced Israel’s threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Eastern Jerusalem, branding this a violation of international legitimacy and the international humanitarian law and a continuation of the forcible eviction of Palestinians from their homes.
