Saudi Arabia condemns storming Al-Aqsa

According to Saudi Gazette, the Kingdom has condemned in the strongest terms the blatant and repeated incursions by Israeli occupation forces and a number of settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on Tuesday.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs renewed the Kingdom’s warning of the consequences of the continuation of such violations of international law and the historical status of the city of Jerusalem.

The Israeli acts also provoke the sentiments of millions of Muslims around the world, especially in light of the humanitarian catastrophe witnessed by the people of Palestine, the statement pointed out.

While emphasizing the importance of respecting religious sanctity, the ministry called on the international community to assume its responsibility towards stopping the ongoing Israeli violations of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

According to reports, more than 2,000 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Tuesday morning, under the heavy protection of Israeli troops, to perform a religious event. The act provoked tensions with Palestinian Muslims present at the holy site, the Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department said in a statement.

Approximately 2,250 Israeli settlers toured the complex and conducted Talmudic religious rituals. It was also reported that Israeli settlers were seen waving Israeli flags while storming the complex of the mosque.

The settlers’ entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex came in response to a call from extremist Jewish groups to commemorate Tisha B’Av, an annual Jewish fast day that marks the occurrence of several disasters in Jewish history, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The settlers entered the mosque through the western Al-Mugharbah Gate, a route frequently used during such incursions, it added.

Israel launches strikes in Lebanon and Gaza

Israel said it struck targets belonging to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and Gaza on Friday, amid rising tension days after Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds.

The escalation in tensions comes after Israeli forces stormed the mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on successive days this week, firing stun grenades and attacking Palestinians as they gathered for Ramadan prayers.

The strikes came hours after dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. The barrage from Lebanon was the largest since a 2006 war between the two countries and raised fears of a wider regional escalation.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said Friday the Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon were focused mainly on Palestinian targets in the area from which they believe the rockets were launched into Israel.

The Resistance in Gaza has informed the mediators that any massive aggression against the Strip will be met with an unprecedented response.

The sources added the Resistance has placed its long-range missile units on maximum alert, and the scope and extent of the response will be determined according to the size of the bombing and the targets that are attacked.

The source added that there is complete coordination between the Resistance in Gaza and the operations room of the Axis of Resistance in the region.

In the latest development, two people were killed after resistance fighters opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank as tensions between Israel and the Palestinians intensify.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two women in their 20s were killed and a third in her 40s was seriously wounded. The medics said they pulled the three unconscious women out of their car, which had apparently crashed after gunmen opened fire at it from a nearby vehicle.

The occupation army also shut down the Hamra military checkpoint in the northern West Bank, blocking the movement of Palestinian traffic, according to local sources. They blocked traffic through the checkpoint in both directions.

The checkpoint straddles the road connecting the northern provinces of the West Bank with Jericho and the neighboring villages in the east of the territory.

 

Raisi demands urgent OIC meeting over Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to requisite an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories after Israeli forces stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque violently overnight, fired stun grenades, and attacked Palestinian worshipers.

During a phone call with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday, he demanded that the 57-member body call an emergency meeting to come to a consensus on how to defend the rights of defenseless Palestinians and confront the crimes of the Tel Aviv regime.

The Iranian president stressed that the support for the rights of the Palestinian nation and fight against the Zionist regime constitute an underlying principle of the Muslim Ummah, referring to Palestine as the beating heart of the Muslim world.

“The unity of the Muslim world remains essential in order to face down the aggression and crimes committed by the Zionist regime,” he continued.

The Iranian president stated that the Muslim world, as a powerful bloc in global politics, needs more unification.

Raisi declared that Iran supports any activity aimed at fostering better ties among Muslim nations as a result.

Widodo, for his part, supported his Iranian counterpart’s request for an urgent OIC conference on Palestine in the hopes that it would strengthen ties between Muslim-majority countries.

The OIC General Secretariat announced shortly after the call that an urgent, extended meeting of the Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives would be held on Saturday at the OIC’s Jeddah headquarters to discuss the incursions and assaults committed by Israeli occupation forces against the al-Aqsa Mosque and its worshippers.

Israeli troops attempted to drive Palestinian worshipers from the holy site on Wednesday by firing rubber bullets and grenades during their second consecutive raid on the location. In reaction, worshipers flung items at the Israeli soldiers.

At least six individuals were hurt in the most recent flare-up, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Concern and dismay about Israeli soldiers’ invasions inside the mosque have been voiced by the UN, Iran, Turkey, and several other nations and organizations.

Images showing Israeli security personnel abusing individuals at the Al-Aqsa Mosque surprised and disgusted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

According to Stephane Dujarric, Guterres found it particularly upsetting because the violence and beating took place during a time of a calendar which is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims that should be a time for peace and nonviolence.

He said, “Places of worship should only be utilized for lawful religious practices.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian criticized Israel for defiling the Al-Aqsa Mosque and asserted that the tide of Islamic world unity has bewildered the Israelis.

In a tweet on Thursday, he said, “The desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and their night raid on worshipers of the holy site created painful scenes that are the result of the behavior of human rights advocates who turn a blind eye to Zionism’s crimes.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two States Concept: Solution or Prolongation of Miseries

After recent 11-days deadly encounter between Israel and Hamas many international organizations, humanitarian institutions and observers are expressing concerns about the settlement based on two-state solution: Palestine and Israel. 

There is growing consensus that the proposed solution does not offer a viable settlement to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel is facing global condemnation because it did not take into account the repercussions of storming Al-Aqsa, arresting worshipers, putting them into prison, and humiliating them in front of the eyes and ears of the world. Most radios and televisions across the world covered the event. Israelis were also under the impression that the Palestinian cause has lost color with the passage of time and some Arab countries normalizing their ties with Israel.  

In the recent crisis in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where the Palestinians have been facing discrimination since 1972, an Israeli plot to displace them and build settlements on the ruins of their homes under the claim that the land on which their homes were built by the Jordanian government was rented. These are intended to legalize their existence and occupation.

The international community, including the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Security Council, as well as the United States of America, European countries, and official and unofficial bodies are talking a lot about the two-state solution to resolve the crisis between Israel and Palestine.

Concerted efforts have been made in putting an end to such a situation, including nearly three decades of diplomacy; the Oslo Accords, the Camp David summit, the Clinton Parameters, the Taba summit, the Arab Peace Initiative, the road map for the Middle East, and Abbas and Olmert's talks in the context of the Annapolis process, and John Kerry's efforts to achieve peace and other relentless attempts.

The Zionist regime considers the formation of any future Palestinian government is synonymous with facing a huge human force that is not stopped by the F-35 fighters or cruise missiles and is not prevented by tanks.

Some Israelis who believe in building a state based on their military power designate the Palestinians as terrorists groups willing to cut settlers into pieces while others, who are more realistic, believe that the Palestinians are a people who do not compromise their cause and do not accept trading their homeland despite the fact that the world has abandoned them. They were fighting with stones, but with the establishment of the state, they would target Israel with missiles, fighters, and all that they would possess.

Accepting a Palestinian state means living alongside the Palestinians in their vicinity, and not to continue bombing, killing, displacing, or desecrating the sanctities of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the holy sites for Muslims and Christians until hearing the last Palestinian breath out.

Many analysts don’t expect that Israel will accept the idea of a two-state solution, which means the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside itself. It should be noted that the West Bank, including Jerusalem, for the Jews, is the core and essence of the biblical land.

Another obstacle facing the two-state solution is settlement operations; the presence of settlers, and the absolute control of Israel over more than half of the West Bank, according to the Oslo agreement, makes it difficult for the establishment of a Palestinian state with real sovereignty, due to lack of independence, security and economic components as it is surrounded by Israel from four sides. In addition Israel is not likely to abandon Jerusalem due to political, religious, economic and tourism considerations.

One of the other main obstacles to achieve the two-state solution is the idea of returning of Palestinian refugees to their homeland from which they were forcibly evicted. 

The right of return is the essence of the Palestinian cause. Their leadership constantly reiterates the right of return, they are fully aware that this will not be achieved in light of the circumstances that Palestine is experiencing at regional and international levels.

 What is the benefit of the two-state solution if half of the Palestinian people remain homeless and scattered? It seems impossible that Israel to accept this level of embarrassment; and even though it is now not in a position to be forced to make all these concessions, knowing that this step can put existence at stake.