Casablanca – The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has said that the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court’s decision to allow Jewish extremists to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque amounts to an unambiguous declaration of religious war.
Yesterday, the Israeli court issued a preliminary judgment enabling Jewish settlers to pray and kneel during their invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque grounds, prompting the Palestinian government to strongly condemn the decision.
According to the ministry, the court’s decision to allow Jewish extremists — who storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Talmudic rituals and prayers inside the mosque, including reciting hymns and prostrating on the ground — is an explicit declaration of religious war that threatens to escalate tensions in the entire MENA region.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the decision as “an official Israeli coup against the status quo, changing it completely, and an explicit declaration of religious war that threatens to explode the conflict arena and the entire region.”
The ministry also argued that the decision is part of Israel’s systematic escalation of the cycle of violence and instability as a way of distracting the world’s attention from the ongoing Judaization and conization of Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry blamed the decision and its devastating implications entirely on the Israeli government.
It emphasized that it will follow up with the international community, particularly the US administration, in demanding prompt involvement to halt Israel’s implementation of its “colonial policies.”
In response to the Palestinian condemnation of the court ruling, the Israeli government reiterated in a statement yesterday that it is “committed” to the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“There is no change, nor is any change planned, on the status quo of the Temple Mount,” added the Israeli government’s response. “The magistrate’s court decision is focused exclusively on the matter of the conduct of the minors brought before it, and does not include a broader determination regarding the freedom of worship on the Temple Mount.”
