The United Nations Expresss Concern For Provokers At Al-Aqsa Mosque

TORONTO - PBB on Monday voiced concern over provocations taking place in the holy place of Jerusalem. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "We are always worried about any provocations carried out in the holy places of Jerusalem."

The statement was made when Dujarric was asked about the blockade by Israeli forces against hundreds of Palestinians, who wanted to perform their first tarawih prayer (night) in the holy month of Ramadan, as they entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of East Jerusalem occupied by Israel.

He reminded that there is a "quo status that must be obeyed and respected."

Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. Jews called the place the Holy Bait Hill because it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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

Tensions have risen in the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military strike on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack carried out by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, in October 2023.

At least 420 Palestinians in the West Bank have since been killed, and more than 4,600 others have been injured as a result of Israeli shooting attacks, according to the Ministry of Health.

Israel is accused of committing genocide at the International Court, which in its interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocide and take steps to ensure humanitarian aid is distributed to civilians in Gaza, of which more than 31 thousand people have died.