Jordan late Saturday warned of “catastrophic” consequences of Israel’s ongoing violation of the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.
Recent Israeli acts violate the sanctity of the holy places and the right of Muslims to perform their religious rituals during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Majali said in a written statement.
Israel’s assault on worshipers and forcibly expelling them from the mosque in preparation for major raids will lead to more tension and violence, for which “everyone will pay,” Majali warned.
Tensions escalated across Palestinian territories after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex and forcibly removed worshippers this week.
The Israeli raids on the mosque triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, with Israel retaliating with airstrikes.
Palestinians accuse Israel of systematically working to Judaize East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, and obliterating its Arab and Islamic identity.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.