Abu Dhabi: The UAE has strongly condemned closure of Al Aqsa Mosque by the occupying forces and preventing of worshippers from performing Friday prayer there for the first time since 1969, describing this as a serious precedent and a blatant attack on the holy sites and on the rights and freedom to practice religious rites.
In a statement released today, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation warned that this action could have serious consequences on the regional and international efforts to revive the peace process. The Ministry also expressed concern that the region will slip into a new crisis.
The Ministry reiterated UAE's rejection of any violation of the right of Muslim to practice their religion freely in their holy sites without restrictions and warned against any attempt to change the legal and historic status in Jerusalem or to impose a new fait accompli in Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Haram Al Sharif.
the Ministry called on the international community to immediately move against the continuous Israeli aggressions on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, as well as Israel's indifference to international resolutions on Jerusalem and the occupied territories. It also called for immediate opening of Al Aqsa Mosque to worshippers.
