UAE summons Israeli envoy over provocations at al-Aqsa Mosque
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest provocative actions by Israeli forces and settlers against Muslims at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that it had summoned Tel Aviv’s ambassador Yossi Shelley and informed him of Abu Dhabi’s strong protest of “disgraceful practices and violations against Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Muslim Quarter.”
It said the Emirates condemns “the events taking place in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, including attacks on civilians and incursions into holy places that resulted in the injury of a number of civilians.”
“These provocative, arbitrary practices represent dangerous incitement against Muslims and are a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the holy city.”
The ministry called on Tel Aviv “to assume full responsibility, condemn these hostile acts, hold perpetrators accountable without exception to ministers and officials, and take urgent steps to prevent the exploitation of Jerusalem for agendas of violence, extremism, and incitement.”
The UAE warned Israel that any failure to act would be seen as implicit approval of the violations, further deepening “hatred, racism, and instability.”
On Monday, far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and more than 2,700 settlers stormed the holy mosque complex to mark Israel’s occupation of the city’s eastern sector following the 1967 Six-Day War.
They waved the flags of the occupying regime and performed Talmudic rituals in the mosque’s courtyards, commemorating the so-called Jerusalem Day.
Every year, Israeli settlers mark the event by marching through the streets of al-Quds and its occupied Old City, including the predominantly Arab neighborhoods, to the Western Wall.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site for Muslims.
Under an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of the regime’s occupation of al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the holy compound is prohibited. But the ban is a mere phrase, and, in action, circumstances have been against Muslims.
