Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates // Decisions to Deport Palestinian Symbols from Al-Aqsa Reveal the Falsehood of Netanyahu's Claims on Freedom of Worship

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemns, in the strongest terms, the occupation authorities ’decision to deport a number of religious and national symbols from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as it renewed the expulsion of the preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri for a period of 4 months, as well as the Secretary-General of the Jerusalem and Palestine clans, Sheikh Abdullah Alqam, and a member of the Legislative Council from the Jerusalem department, Jihad Abu Zneid, and the Jerusalemite leader, Hamdi Abu Diab for two weeks and others, in a new escalation of the old aims to facilitate the continuous attacks of settlers and the Jewish extremists on Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards, as an integral part of Israeli plans and projects targeting Christian and Islamic sanctities.

The Ministry closely follows the decisions and plans of the occupation state aimed at emptying Al-Aqsa Mosque from Muslim worshipers, to consecrate the temporal division of the mosque pending its division spatially. The Ministry confirms that all the occupation acts against Jerusalem and the holy places are invalid and rejected, and reveals the falsehood of the Israeli government’s claims regarding its concern for freedom of worship and access to places of worship. The Ministry continues to coordinate with brothers in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to expose these violations at the international level.

The ministry believes that the arbitrary deportation decisions coincide with the approaching date set by Netanyahu to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, as part of an American plan targeting Al-Aqsa, and an American -Israeli coordination to liquidate the Palestinian issue. The ministry calls upon the international community to reject and condemn expulsion decisions, especially countries that claim interest for human rights, freedom of worship and movement, and calls upon the Special Rapporteur regarding the right to worship and freedom to access, and its role to condemn such steps and follow them at the relevant level. Moreover, the Ministry also invites the Human Rights Council to shoulder its responsibilities towards stopping these violations.