Qatar Warns of Continued Israeli Violations in Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Quds
Cairo / Information Office / July 27
The State of Qatar participated in the emergency meeting of Arab foreign minister that was held today with a delegation chaired by HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi. The meeting discussed the latest Israeli attacks and actions against the city of Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque.
In a speech to the meeting, HE Al Muraikhi said that the occupied city of Al Quds in general and Al Aqsa Mosque in particular are facing an unprecedented and systematic Israeli aggression that takes the entire region to a very dangerous juncture that would be unnecessary if there is an Israeli government that pays heed to international community and its resolutions.
In his speech, HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs stressed that the Israeli government's campaign to Judaize the city and close Al Aqsa Mosque in the face of worshipers and its attempt to impose a new reality in the holy city violates all international laws and norms, violates the resolutions of the United Nations and the relevant UN Security Council, stirs Arab and Muslim emotions, and represents a fierce war against the Palestinian people.
He added that Israel, the occupying power, is striving to change the historical reality in the Holy Mosque by installing metal detector gates in a dangerous precedent that has not happened for nearly half a century, especially since the terrorist crime of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, a matter which would lead to a very serious escalation and serious consequences and fuel religious war in the region.
His Excellency said that these violations, backed by military force, are part of the implementation of pre-planned plans to Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem and increased attempts to impose temporal and spatial division in Al Aqsa Mosque, by increasing excavations, incursions and desecration, a matter which constitutes a blatant aggression against the rights and sanctities of the Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nation. It is a grave violation of all international conventions, laws and resolutions of the Security Council, all of which affirm that any destruction or desecration of holy places, buildings or religious sites in Jerusalem, and that any encouragement or complicity to carry out such action would seriously threaten international peace and security, and that legislative or administrative measures or actions taken by Israel to alter the status quo of East Jerusalem (Al Quds), including the confiscation of land, property and displacement of the population, are totally null and cannot change the demographic and religious status of the city.
In this regard, HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs referred to the decisions of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Human Rights Council, which have repeatedly stressed that the city of East Jerusalem (Al Quds) is an occupied city and an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and that Al Aqsa Mosque is a holy place for Muslims only.
He insisted that the State of Qatar strongly condemns these ongoing Israeli violations of Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque, reiterates its total rejection of any change in the status quo in East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and calls upon the government of Israel to cease all actions and restore the situation in the city to what it was, including the removal of metal detector gates and respect for freedom of worship, and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to practice their religious rites.
Qatar also calls upon the international community and its organizations to assume their responsibilities towards this unprecedented Israeli aggression and to immediately intervene to enforce its resolutions, especially in the protection of Islamic and Christian sanctities, and to protect the Palestinian people in their land and holy sites. Qatar warns of the extreme seriousness of this new aggression, the persistence of Israel in committing such grave violations, and the challenge and disregard for the will and decisions of the international community and its repercussions on the situation in the region and the prospects for a comprehensive peace to achieve a two-State solution.
In this regard, the Minister reaffirmed Qatar's full support for the Palestinian people, who are struggling for the restoration of their rights, self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state on the borders of June 4, 1967 with Al Quds as its capital and saluting the steadfastness of the people of Al Quds in the protection of the Holy City and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
His Excellency said we are facing a very dangerous situation, with all the dimensions it entails, which obliges us all to work with all seriousness, sincerity and impartiality in order to adopt serious and efficient steps to come up with resolutions that support the Palestinian cause, which was and will continue to be the central issue of Arabs. He called for the stoppage of systematic process of encroachment and Judaization, which seeks to obliterate and alter the features of the Holy City, which is a violation of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations, as Israel is not concerned about any serious repercussions that may result from the continuation of these illegal policies. In this regard, we must focus on practical measures for Arab and international action to achieve the desired objectives, HE the Minister said.
HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs also sent a message to the brothers in Palestine to end the state of division, saying that the unity of the Palestinian people is the cornerstone to achieve their legitimate demands and end the occupation and establish their independent state.
The aim of the meeting is to work on canceling these procedures and to affirm the rejection of any change in the historical and legal situation in occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, to remove and end these unprecedented measures and to ensure that it does not recur and return things in Al Quds to what it was before the fourth of July.
The General Secretariat of the Arab League had prepared draft resolutions and an explanatory memorandum containing a number of measures to deal with Israel. And this is what the Ministers will take decision about it at their meeting Thursday.