OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Occupied Jerusalem, has denounced the Israeli decision to close the Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of a state of emergency, warning that the move seeks to tighten control over the Islamic holy site.
In press remarks on Sunday, Sabri said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) exploits every opportunity to shut the Aqsa Mosque, describing such closures as “unjustified measures repeatedly taken under security pretexts.”
Sabri added that “the closure of the Aqsa Mosque entrenches police dominance under the guise of security, violates freedom of worship, and signals Israeli efforts to control the holy site’s management and strip the Jordanian-run Islamic Awqaf Administration of its powers.”
The Jerusalemite official pointed out that this measure deprives tens of thousands of Muslims of performing the nighttime Isha and Tarawih prayers inside the Aqsa Mosque compound.
Meanwhile, a statement released by the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate on Sunday said that the IOA continued to seal off the holy city, its old neighborhoods, and the Aqsa Mosque for the second consecutive day after declaring a state of emergency following the launch of the Zio-American attack on Iran on Saturday.
According to the statement, Muslim worshipers are still being prevented from entering the Aqsa Mosque for prayers.
