Palestine religious body warns against Israeli curbs on worship

Occupied Jerusalem: The Supreme Fatwa Council in Palestine Monday decried Israeli occupation authorities for setting up a tower and installing surveillance cameras on the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. In a statement, the religious body called it "a violation and direct threat" to Al-Aqsa, one of Islam's holiest shrines, warning against the sinister designs and intrigues behind the move, part of an ongoing judization scheme targeting holy sites in Jerusalem and Hebron to impose a fait accompli. The Israeli action, it added, comes amid stepped up raids by Jewish extremists into the Jerusalem compound under the escort of Israeli police and special forces. The council said the latest action marked another aggression with an intent to impose curbs on Muslim worshipers, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, together with already tight restrictions on Muslim worshipers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, where military checkpoints and other hindrance were in place. The council warn ed against violation of freedom of worship, including bans on the call to prayer at the two shrines, where Jewish settlers and extremists are given full and free access. Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its walls, courtyards, domes and corridors, and the Ibrahimi Mosque, are an Islamic endowment and Muslims have the sole and pure right to them, and no one else shares that right, it reiterated. The Council warned against the consequences of israeli violations, which are a provocation that could ignite a religious war across the entire world, calling on the Palestinian people to continue the renovation of the two mosques to forestall attempts to empty them. Source: Jordan News Agency