OIC condemns Israeli assaults on worshippers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday strongly condemned Israeli forces’ ban of thousands of Palestinians reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem to worship, and assaulting them.

In a statement, the OIC decried the assault on Palestinian worshippers using teargas grenades and the arrests of hundreds who were trying to attend Friday prayers at the holy site, calling such restrictions and assaults "a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms."

The Muslim bloc urged "the international community to assume its responsibility towards "obliging Israel, the occupying power, to halt all recurrent violations of the freedom of worship and desecration of the holy sites while stressing the need to preserve the historical and legal status in Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Israel has restricted Palestinian worshippers’ access to Al-Aqsa Mosque amid growing tensions across the occupied West Bank due to the Israeli army’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip that has left over 33,000 people dead.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.