The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine strongly condemns the escalating aggression by Israeli occupation forces and extremist settlers, including government ministers and Knesset members, against the sanctity and revered status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The committee considers these actions as a blatant provocation and a profound disregard for the sentiments of over two billion Muslims around the world.
In a statement issued by Dr. Ramzi Khouri, Member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, the committee emphasized that these incursions – coinciding with the so-called “destruction of the alleged temple” – are part of a broader Israeli strategy and attempts, led by the extreme trio of Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir, to advance their Judaization and colonial agenda not only in the city of Jerusalem and its holy sites but also across all occupied Palestinian territories.
The committee further highlighted that this assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish extremists, who perform religious rituals, and hoist the Israeli flag in the courtyard of the Mosque, constitutes a dangerous escalation and a direct attack on the occupied city of Jerusalem and its holy sites. It represents an attempt to impose a new reality that flagrantly violates international law, UN resolutions, and the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
The committee calls on relevant international institutions and all churches worldwide to denounce this aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque, to take action to stop such attacks and to ensure protection for both Muslim and Christian holy sites. The committee stresses that the international community has legal, political, and moral responsibilities to uphold international peace and security. This goal can only be realized by ending the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, per relevant international resolutions.
