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Muslim world, Arab-Israeli coalition MKS slam Al-Aqsa Mosque arrests

Jordan, Abraham Accords signees and Islamist Israeli party blast arrests of violent rioters at the Temple Mount.

By World Israel News Staff

Responding to Muslim violence on the Temple Mount following Ramadan prayers early Friday morning, Israeli security forces entered Al-Aqsa Mosque and arrested an estimated 470 people.

Although by Sunday, most of those detained had been released, the very act of Israeli authorities entering the mosque sparked widespread outcry throughout the Islamic world, as well as from Arab Israeli lawmakers.

Jordanian Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs (RCJA) Abdullah Kanaan told state-owned media that “these raids and scenes represent a message to the free world and its legitimate organizations that Israel – the occupying force and the apartheid power – is the status quo in Jerusalem.”

He falsely asserted that “historical facts” prove that the Temple Mount belongs exclusively to Muslims, and alleged that arrests — aimed at preventing rock-throwing and violent rioting — were laying the foundation for Israel to destroy the mosque and rebuild the third Jewish temple on the site.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, Arab countries that have recently signed the Abraham Accords normalization agreement with the Jewish State, also condemned Israel’s actions on the Temple Mount Friday.

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In line with Islamist terminology, both the UAE and Bahrain described Israeli security forces arresting violent rioters as “storming” the mosque.

The statement “stressed the UAE’s position that the Israeli authorities should respect the right of Palestinians to practice their religious rites and halt any practices that violate the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The UAE added that Israel should respect the authority of the Jordanian-backed Waqf religious organization, which serves as the Islamic custodian of the Temple Mount.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said the arrests constituted “a provocation to Muslims, especially in the holy month of [Ramadan].”

Morocco said it “firmly condemns the incursion by Israeli occupation forces into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, their closure of its gates and their aggression against unarmed worshipers in the mosque compound.”

Israel’s coalition kingmaker Mansour Abbas, head of the Islamist Ra’am party, attempted to mitigate harsh statements made by Ra’am MK Mazen Ghanim on Friday,in which the lawmaker insinuated he was ready to topple the coalition over the clashes at Al-Aqsa.

“The scenes at Al-Aqsa were very difficult. It doesn’t matter how it started or how it ended. When you see those pictures it affects people [emotionally] and so you’ll see various reactions. We acted and put out a call for calm and to give [the mosque] its respect, to allow people to pray in peace,” Abbas said in an interview with Channel 12 on Saturday evening.

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The Gaza-based Hamas terror group warned that Israel would pay a heavy price for the arrests.

“Our people in Jerusalem are not alone in the battle for Al-Aqsa. The entire Palestinian people and its noble resistance and its vital power are with them,” said Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum.