The Arab League has warned that Israel’s insistence on continuing its aggressive practices in al-Quds and at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque compound plus its blatant disregard for the legal and historical status of the holy city pose a serious threat to international peace and security.
The regional organization in the Arab world issued the warning on Sunday in a statement marking the 52nd anniversary of the arson attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
On August 21, 1969, the mosque was set on fire by an Australian settler named Dennis Michael Rohan in coordination with Israeli officials and military forces. The fire gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque.
“The crime of burning the al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, which was committed by one of the Zionist extremists and terrorists, was a heinous and intentional crime that was masterminded by the upper echelons of the Israeli occupation authorities at the time,” the Arab League said.
It also stressed that the burning of the al-Aqsa Mosque “comes in the context of the occupation’s systematic and persistent policy and plans that target the Haram al-Sharif (Aqsa Mosque), the Islamic and Christian holy sites and Jerusalem’s Arab identity and character with obliteration, forgery, settlement, and Judaization.”
The 22-member organization also called on the international community to bear its responsibilities toward the occupied city of al-Quds and ensure Palestinians of international protection against the Zionist enemy.
On Saturday, the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, also called al-Aqsa Mosque “a red line” for all Palestinians.
“Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line, and any attack on it will face the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people, and they will not allow any fire to reach this mosque again,” Hamas said in a statement marking the 52nd anniversary of Israel’s burning of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
It stressed that the 1969 arson attack was the beginning of an extended scheme of Judaization, displacement, and demolition practiced by the Zionist regime aimed at establishing its “temple” in place of the Holy Mosque.