A group of Israeli settlers led by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Uri Ariel stormed on Wednesday Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, causing tension amid a call for The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to have an observer in the occupied city.
Head of media and public relations in the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem Journalist Firas Dibs said Ariel and a group of settlers forced their way into the holy site and toured it under heavy security measures, carrying out Talmudic rituals in its squares.
The move came in light of restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians wanting to enter the mosque.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs denounced these break-ins, demanding an end to what it called an arrogance that will have undesirable consequences.
It also condemned the occupation policy aimed at displacing Palestinians by destroying their homes and carrying out execution-style killings.
Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound almost on a daily basis, creating a tense situation. Last June, 2,857 Jewish extremists stormed the holy site, according to Palestinian data.
Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to change the status quo at the site.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has called on UNESCO to send a permanent observer to Jerusalem.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Maliki stressed that this step aims at observing Israel’s violations and judaistic and destructive measures to obliterate historical, cultural and religious landmarks or change the status quo.
“The Palestinian diplomacy will foil all their attempts to destroy our heritage, our culture, our history and to change facts on ground,” he added.
Maliki highlighted the importance of international legal institutions, including UNESCO, to expose the Israeli occupational plans based on annihilating others and creating a new reality of illusions.
The occupation fears history and cultural heritage, Maliki said, calling on UN organizations, especially UNESCO, to protect the heritage, culture and history of Jerusalem, "the capital of the State of Palestine.”
Maliki's statement was made one day after the UN World Heritage Committee adopted a draft resolution on the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls during its session in Baku.
