Libya’s PM slam Israeli escalation in Jerusalem

Libya’s PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Saturday denounced Israeli eviction plans for Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and an assault on worshippers performing prayers in Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The PM condemned Israel’s unilateral measures because it undermines chances to resume peace talks.

“We reject Israel’s plans and measures to evict Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and to impose Israel’s sovereignty on them,” it said.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, denounced the assault on worshippers and deemed it a “brutal Zionist terrorism in the light of shameful international silence” toward what is going on in Jerusalem.

For its part, the Islamic Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) hailed the steadfastness of Palestinian Jerusalemites in the face of Israeli aggression and plans to displace them from their homes.

IUMS Secretary-General Ali Qaradaghi encouraged the Muslim world to support the Palestinian cause materially and morally, considering such support a religious duty and necessity.

Late Friday, the number of Palestinian injured rose to 205 in Israeli attacks at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Damascus Gate of the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah district in East Jerusalem.

Police attacked Muslim worshippers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque while they were performing tarawih — special night prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.