The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council on Thursday condemned visits that were recently carried out by pro-normalisation groups to Al-Aqsa mosque. The visits were under the protection of Israeli police and accompanied by officials from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

In the wake of its 88th session, the council’s Chairman Muhammad Hussein told reporters: “The normalisation visits are no different than the repeated incursions of the occupation soldiers and settlers, who desecrate the holy mosque under the protection of their soldiers.”

“The holy Al-Aqsa mosque is for Muslims alone and only those who do not strip its Islamic legitimacy are welcome to visit,” Hussein asserted, adding that those who normalise with the Israeli occupation were “not welcome at the sanctity of the mosque.”

The grand mufti denounced what he described as: “Israeli plans to isolate the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, as well as the denial of thousands of worshippers from accessing them.”

He pointed out that the Israeli authorities were exploiting the occurrence of the pandemic: “In order to empty the mosque, seize it and facilitate the incursion of extremist settlers into it.”

Source: Middle East Monitor