OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council warned on Thursday against an Israeli bill seeking to legalize restrictions on the Muslim call to prayer, stressing that the adhan is a fundamental Islamic ritual that cannot be banned or limited.
The Council said the proposed legislation comes amid escalating attacks on mosques and places of worship, citing the burning of the Grand Mosque in Jiljilya and another mosque in Mazari al-Nubani by Israeli settlers.
It said such attacks form part of a continuing pattern of arson, desecration and violations targeting Palestinian religious sites, and constitute a grave breach of freedom of worship and the right to practice religious rituals under international law.
The Council also condemned repeated settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including collective Talmudic rituals and ritual prostration in its courtyards.
It warned that the practices are aimed at imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Mosque and altering the status quo in occupied Jerusalem amid international silence.
The Council urged Arabs and Muslims to support occupied Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, strengthen Palestinian steadfastness and encourage those able to reach the site to pray there and help protect it.
It also condemned an Israeli plan to seize between 15 and 20 historic properties in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem.
The properties belong to Jerusalem families and include Islamic endowments and buildings dating back to the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods.
The Council described the plan as one of the most dangerous settlement expansion projects near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying it seeks to remove Palestinians from the surrounding area and further Judaize the city.
