Egypt vowed Wednesday that Israeli occupation authorities would never be allowed to control or split Al-Aqsa mosque. This came in a speech delivered by Egypt's Permanent Representative at the Arab League Ambassador Mohammad Orfi during a Jordan-requested extraordinary meeting of the Arab League at the level of permanent representatives on Israeli aggressions on Al-Aqsa mosque. He said Israeli occupation forces' breach of Al-Aqsa mosque would seriously affect the stability and interests of everyone, including Israeli themselves. He added that the meeting came in immediate response to the serious Israeli violations of Al-Aqsa in blatant defiance of Muslims' sentiments across the world, underlining that Al-Aqsa mosque would remain well-seated in the minds and hearts of all Muslims in the world. For his part, Jordanian Permanent Representative Amjad Al-Adaileh said it is essential for Arab countries to unify their stances and step up efforts in face of condemnable actions by Israeli occupation forces. He added that the attacks by Israeli occupation police on Al-Aqsa require concerted and continuous efforts at all levels in order to stop such aggressive actions which only aim at changing the historic and legal status of the holy site. The Jordanian diplomat called for taking all required moves to halt this serious Israeli escalation and avert its negative ramifications. According to media reports, Israeli occupation police attacked and arrested Palestinian worshipers in a violent dawn raid on Al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem during the fasting month of Ramadhan. At least 400 Palestinians were arrested and remain in Israeli custody, said the reports. The Arab Parliament also, on Wednesday, condemned the serious Israeli escalation against defenseless Palestinian people at Al-Aqsa during the holy month of Ramadan. In a press release, the Arab Parliament affirmed its denouncement against the repeated assaults towards Muslims and escalating the situation in the region. The Arab Parliament, therefore, called on the international community and international organizations to live up to their due responsibilities by seeking hard to end this tyranny. In Brussels, the European Union (EU) Wednesday voiced "deep concern" at the growing tensions and violence overnight inside the compound of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. "It is extremely important to preserve the historic status quo of the holy sites," EU lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano, told a news conference in Brussels. "We call on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and refrain from actions that will or could increase the already high level of tensions, particularly in this period of religious holidays," he said. Stano noted that the meetings in Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh on March 19 "provided constructive commitments that should be implemented in good faith." The EU remains fully committed to support these de-escalation efforts, he stressed, and added that EU High Representative Josep Borrell has confirmed this commitment in his talks with the US State Secretary Blinken and Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi in Brussels on Tuesday. In Riyadh, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi has strongly condemned the continued storming of the Al-Aqsa mosque by Israeli occupation forces. He said that the continued storming by the occupation forces of Al-Aqsa mosque, violating its sanctities and attacking its worshipers are considered a serious escalation and it contradicts the international principles and norms in respect of religious sanctities as well as a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions. The Secretary-General stressed that the continuous violations, assaults on sanctities, and the continuous Israeli storming into the Occupied Palestinian Territories are considered a further escalation. Israel assumes responsibility for all its consequences, which undermine all efforts for solutions to prevent exacerbating violence that threatens peace and security in the region. He called on the international community for an immediate movement to stop these actions by the Israeli occupation authorities, to support all international and regional efforts to advance peace in the Middle East, to guarantee that efforts are not undermined, and to establish global and regional peace. He reaffirmed the consistent positions of the GCC towards the Palestinian issue as the first issue of Arabs and Muslims and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. In Jeddah, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has strongly condemned the Israeli occupation forces' flagrant incursion into Al-Aqsa mosque, the brutal attack on worshipers within its courtyards and the arrest of several worshippers. The OIC considers this grave escalation an attack on the sanctity of holy sites and on the freedom of worship, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and relevant UN resolutions. The OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said he holds Israel, the occupying power, fully responsible for the repercussions of these attacks, which he rejected and condemned and which, he said, will fuel tension, violence and instability in the region. The secretary-general called on the international community to act seriously to put an end to such repeated Israeli violations and to compel Israel, the occupying power, to respect the sanctity of the holy sites and to preserve the legal and historical status of Al-Aqsa mosque. — Agencies
