The Palestinian presidency on Tuesday warned of the dangers of an escalating ‘religious war’ waged by Israeli forces and settlers against Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites, saying the attacks had crossed all red lines and could ignite a religious conflict with serious consequences for the region and the world.
In a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency, the presidency said an alleged attempt by settlers to set fire to the Noor al-Din Zinki Mosque in the town of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus, and spray racist slogans on its walls coincided with an incursion into the Al-Aqsa compound.
The incidents showed that attacks on holy sites had become a systematic policy adopted and protected by the Israeli government, it said.
“Targeting mosques and places of worship, repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and allowing Talmudic rituals to be performed in its courtyards are not merely passing provocations,” the statement said.
They formed part of a dangerous plan to impose new realities, alter the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa, establish Israeli control over the site and undermine its Islamic identity, it added.
The presidency warned that continued attacks, accompanied by incitement, risked driving the situation toward a dangerous escalation for which the Israeli government bore full responsibility.
