JEDDAH (Dispatches) -- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday condemned the latest Israeli aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied East al-Quds, stressing that the holy site is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims.
Hussein Ibrahim Taha, the secretary general of OIC, addressed an open-ended extraordinary meeting of the body’s Executive Committee held following a violent Israeli raid on Palestinian worshipers who were observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan there.
“Al-Quds is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and the capital of the State of Palestine, and that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in its entirety, is the exclusive place of worship for Muslims,” Taha said.
He also denounced the brutal assault by Zionist forces on Palestinians performing Ramadan-related rituals in the compound, saying the move was “a flagrant violation of the sanctity of holy sites, freedom of worship, as well as the Geneva Convention and relevant United Nations resolutions.”
Taha slammed the policies of the occupying regime aimed at changing the statutes quo of the compound, reiterating that any attempt to alter the historical and legal status of the holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque has no legal effect and is null and void based on international law.
These measures by Zionist forces will stoke tension, instability, and insecurity in the region, he said, holding the occupying regime responsible for the consequences of these “dangerous” crimes and violations.
Dozens of heavily armed Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday night, firing tear gas and stun grenades into the Qibli prayer hall, where hundreds of men, women, elderly people and children were staying overnight to pray. Some eyewitnesses said rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired.
Israeli officers then beat up worshipers with batons and riot guns, wounding many, before arresting them.
Videos from inside the mosque showed Israeli officers repeatedly hitting people with batons while they appeared to lie on the floor. Cries for help from women and children could be heard in the background.
Since the start of the holy month, the occupying regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Amid heightened tensions with Palestinian worshipers, Israeli settlers also press ahead with their frequent incursions and provocative rituals at the holy site.
On Friday, one person was killed and five others were wounded in a car ramming in Tel Aviv that came hours after two Zionists were killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank.
The retaliatory attacks came after a night of strikes by the occupying regime in Gaza and Lebanon.
In the latest attack, a car ploughed into a group on a street near a popular bike and walking

path on a Tel Aviv promenade. The driver was shot dead by a nearby police officer when he tried to pull a gun, police said.
A Zionist security source identified the assailant as an Arab from the town of Kafr Qassem.
Earlier on Friday, two Zionists were killed in a shooting attack on their car near the Jewish settlement of Hamra in the Jordan Valley.
As troops hunted for the gunman, Netanyahu ordered police reserves and additional military forces to be mobilized.
No claim of responsibility was made for either of Friday’s attacks, but Hamas praised them and linked them to the tensions around Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Friday prayers passed without major incident and apart from some stone-throwing, police said the situation had been quiet.
Twice this week Zionist forces have raided the mosque, where hundreds of thousands of worshippers have been praying during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Footage of officers beating worshippers who confronted them aroused concern, even among the Zionist regime’s allies, and prompted condemnation across the Arab world.
The site in Al-Quds’ Old City has been a longstanding flashpoint, notably over the issue of Zionist visitors defying a ban on non-Muslim prayer in the mosque compound.
Clashes there in 2021 helped set off a 10-day war between the occupying regime of Israel and Hamas. The exchange of crossborder fire awakened memories of that conflict, but as the lull in fighting extended on Friday, the occupying regime did not seem keen to prolong the conflagration.
“Nobody wants an escalation right now,” an Israeli army spokesman said.
One official with a Palestinian resistance group told Reuters they were ready to keep the calm should Israel do the same, with the group having “made its point”. A Qatari official said Qatar was helping international efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Even before the flare-up of the past few days, the West Bank has seen a surge of confrontations in the past several months, with frequent military raids and escalating settler violence against Palestinians.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 18 Zionists and foreigners have been killed in attacks in Occupied Palestine, around Al-Quds and in the West Bank. In the same period, Israeli forces have martyred more than 90 Palestinians.
Israel’s new extremist regime is set on expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and includes members who rule out a Palestinian state.