Issued by Save al-Quds Campaign

15-July-2017

Press Release
Issued by Save al-Quds Campaign

In regards to the Zionist occupation’s shutdown of Masjid al-Aqsa in the face of Muslim worshipers for the second day in a row.

After a long series of systematic violations against Masjid Al-Aqsa and arbitrary provocations against the Muslim worshipers and Murabitin in the third holiest site in Islam, three young Palestinians were extra-judicially executed in courtyards of the Masjid by the occupation police forces on Friday morning, July 14, 2017.

The clash erupted at the “Hutta gate” outside al-Aqsa with the occupation forces that are normally stationed to prevent most worshipers from entering the Masjid. The three men were then chased into the Masjid’s courtyards, and there they were brutally killed as the footage shows. However, the aftermath of this incident was far more appalling.

Instead of reviewing its discriminatory policies and violations of the Palestinians and Muslims rights to reach Al-Aqsa without restrictions, and instead of ceasing the systematic incursions into the third holiest site in Islam. And rather than abiding by the international resolutions that call on it to withdraw from the occupied territories including al-Quds… The occupation immediately retaliated to the incident by shutting down the Masjid in the face of the Muslim worshipers on Friday; an action without parallel in the Palestinian history since 1969. Then, the occupation extended the closure to Saturday, July 15, 2017, which constitutes an unprecedented violation added to the long record of the occupation crimes.

Therefore, and in order to assert on our stance against this blatant assault on al-Aqsa, we, the undersigned in Save Al-Quds Campaign, would like to emphasize the following:

We condemn the occupation’s unjustified closure of al-Aqsa and the prohibition of raising the Azan and having the prayers in the Masjid, including the Friday prayer. And we warn against the occupation exploiting these events to impose a new reality in the Masjid that leads to dividing it spatially and temporally.
We call on the Malaysian government to undertake a strong and courageous stance against what is being done to al-Aqsa, in order to deter and restrain the occupation from continuing violating the sanctity of the Masjid and the international law.
We call on the Muslim and Arab world to put aside the internal disputes and unite behind the resistance of the occupation and to restore the cause of al-Quds and al-Aqsa back to the forefront. As we call on them to sever relations with the occupation and stand against the prospective normalization.
We remind the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that its establishment was in response to the burning of Masjid al-Aqsa in 1969, therefore we call on them to undertake a more active and strong stance towards what is happening in Al-Aqsa.
We call on the Malaysian media to shed light on what is being done to Masjid al-Aqsa and al-Quds.
We call on the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and all the Islamic Council of all the states in Malaysia to make the next Friday (July 21st) a Friday of solidarity with al-Aqsa and to dedicate the sermon to al-Quds and al-Aqsa
We emphasize that the key to establishing peace and solving the conflict lies in the withdrawal of the occupying state from the occupied territories and lifting its hand on al-Aqsa, besides abiding by the international law and resolutions.

Signatories: