Middle East Monitor / April 15, 2021
The Palestinian Authority has slammed Israel’s sabotage of loudspeakers used during prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan, Wafa news agency has reported. The wires, said a spokesman for the PA presidency, were cut some time during the Isha (night) prayers and Tarawih, the additional prayers which follow them during the holy month.
“This was a racist attack on the sanctity of the holy places and freedom of worship,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, “as well as a gross violation of international human rights conventions.” He warned of the consequences of this “aggressive” Israeli move. “It threatens to transform the conflict into an endless religious war that will undermine international peace and security.”
Israeli police broke into the minarets of Al-Magharba and Al-Asbat and cut the wires attached to the loudspeakers of the mosque, which is the third holiest place in the Muslim world. At the time, around 10,000 fully-vaccinated Palestinians were performing their prayers on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, explained Wafa.
The police officers also removed the door of Al-Asbat minaret and ransacked the attic space. They had earlier prevented the distribution of meals for worshippers to break their fast, and attacked them as they were leaving the mosque following the Tarawih prayers.
The PA official urged the international community to take serious action in order to end the ongoing Israeli aggression against Muslim and Christian holy places in occupied Jerusalem.
