Palestinians have reacted furiously after Israeli forces on Tuesday cut electric cables inside the minarets of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third most holy site of the Islamic faith, preventing the call to prayer.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called on the international community to take “serious action” to stop Israeli violations against the sacred site.
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Israeli police stormed the Bab Al-Maghariba and Bab Al-Silsila minarets on the western side of the Al-Aqsa compound on Tuesday evening.
The storming was to prevent the call to prayer, which coincided with Israel’s Memorial Day – the commemoration of killed Israeli soldiers – according to reports.
Israel held a state ceremony for the occasion at the Western Wall, a sacred Jewish site that is adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The two holy sites are in East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
The Israeli raid on the Al-Aqsa mosque prevented evening prayers from being called from the mosque on the first day of Ramadan, the sacred Muslim month of fasting which began on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Authority’s news agency WAFA also reported that Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from holding their fast-breaking iftar meal near the minarets of the mosque.
“These actions are a racist attack on the sanctity of the holy places, and on freedom of worship. They are a clear violation of international human rights conventions,” said Abu Rudeineh in a statement.
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