AMMAN — Leader of the
United Arab List (UAL) in the Israeli Knesset and head of Raam Party Mansour Abbas said that all
positions and demands regarding Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem are headed
and directed by His Majesty King Abdullah II, the custodian of Al-Aqsa Mosque
and religious sanctities in Jerusalem, according to Al-Mamlaka TV.
اضافة اعلان
Abbas affirmed through his Facebook page that: “In
the end the solution will be in the demise of the occupation and the
establishment of the Palestinian state in the occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital and Al-Aqsa in its heart.”
He added that the UAL’s position inside the Israeli
coalition government with regard to Al-Aqsa Mosque “will be determined on the
basis of the output of the meetings of the joint Jordanian-Israeli Committee.”
He added that the UAL does not pay attention “to
leaks and repeated rumors from official and non-official political parties.”
Mansour said that the he had informed the Israeli Prime Minister (Naftali
Bennett) and the Alternate Prime Minister (Yair Lapid) of the UAL’s clear
position after meeting King Abdullah for consultations two weeks ago.
“Our duty is to support the efforts of
King Abdullah II, as this is the
duty of all Arab and Muslim rulers,” Mansour said. “The issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque
is one for the Islamic nation as a whole, and is not a domestic political issue
for the UAL alone,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bennett said Sunday that Israel will make
its own decisions concerning Jerusalem and the “Temple Mount” without any
foreign interference, in an apparent reference to statements by Abbas, The
Times of Israel reported.
“All decisions regarding the Temple Mount and
Jerusalem will be made by the Israeli government, which holds sovereignty over
the city, without any foreign considerations,” Bennett said at the start of the
weekly cabinet meeting. “We certainly reject any foreign interference in the
decisions of the Israeli government,” Bennett said.
“Of course, the State of Israel will continue to
maintain a respectful attitude toward members of all religions in Jerusalem,”
Bennett said. “A united Jerusalem is the capital of only one state — the State
of Israel.”
An Islamic Movement official told The Times of
Israel that Raam had pushed for the new joint Israel-Jordanian committee to
resolve burning issues on
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, such as reducing the Israeli
police presence and expanding the Jordanian Waqf’s authority.
Bennett’s comments Sunday were slammed by senior
Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al-Sheikh as “a violation of international law”.
“This does not recognize the historical status quo, and violates the Jordanian
Hashemite custodianship of the holy sites in East Jerusalem,” said Sheikh, one
of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s closest advisers.
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