CAIRO: Hundreds of Palestinian expatriates in Egypt staged a peaceful protest outside the Arab League headquarters in downtown Cairo Tuesday to condemn ongoing Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, Youm7 reported.
The protesters called for immediate Arab action against the ongoing violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam and has been a main part of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The protesters raised several posters of the mosque and chanted slogans including “Aqsa represents the Arabs’ dignity” and “Silence of the Arab world and international community on the Israeli aggression is shame.”
During the past few days, dozens of Israeli security forces have raided the mosque premises and clashed with Muslim worshippers, some of whom have been reportedly injured.
During the clashes, Palestinians in the complex hurled rocks and flares at the police, according to Reuters. Palestinians fear that the Israeli police would allow Jews to pray inside the place outside Al-Aqsa due to pressure by hard-liners. Jewish prayers outside Al-Aqsa have been banned since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Several Arab and Muslim states, notably Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have denounced the Israeli raid.
The White House has said it is deeply concerned about the violence and called on all sides to “exercise restraint and refrain from provocative action and rhetoric,” Reuters reported.
“Egypt warns of the extreme gravity caused by Israel’s continuous policy of attacking Islamic religious sanctities and banning Palestinians the entrance of the
mosque which undermines efforts to resume peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated last week.