AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Zionist prime minister Naftali Bennett has backpedaled on earlier statements he made which he said Zionists will preserve freedom of worship for Jews at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In a statement, his office said “There is no change in the status quo,” adding that he had intended to say he would ensure Jewish access to visit the Muslim holy site and not to worship there.
Jews are only permitted to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound but not to perform prayers within it.
The comment by the Zionist prime minister received a huge backlash.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas categorically rejected the statements by Bennett, saying his remarks were an escalation that would lead to a dangerous religious conflict for which the Zionist regime bears full responsibility.
Abbas considered Bennett’s remarks as a defiance of the international community.
The United Arab List, an Arab political party and a part of the ruling coalition regime in the occupied territories, has stressed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is “solely the property of Muslims”, warning of renewed escalation after Zionist settlers stormed the Muslim holy site.
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque, in its 144 dunams, is solely the property of Muslims, and no one else has any right to it,” the United Arab List said in a joint statement with its parent organization, the Islamic Movement.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, located in the Israeli-occupied Old City of Al-Quds, is a flashpoint holy Islamic site. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, over 1,500 settlers stormed the mosque to mark a Jewish holiday. During the aggression, Zionist troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian worshipers, and arrested a number of them.