Qatar has called on the international community to urgently intervene to stop Israel from encroaching on the rights of Palestinians and Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
In a statement published on Thursday, December 7, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation allowing a march of extremists in occupied Jerusalem under the slogan of imposing control over Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The ministry considered the march “a dangerous provocation of feelings and a blatant attack on the rights of the Palestinian people and on the historical Hashemite custodianship of the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.”
The Ministry of foreign affairs warned against “Israeli efforts aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its sanctities,” stressing that “these provocative steps would increase the state of tension and expand the circle of violence in the region.”
On Thursday, the march was led by an explicitly Kahanist, ultranationalist organization called “The Jewish Truth,” which aimed to call for full Jewish control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and annul the authority of the Waqf.
Earlier on Thursday, the head of the Israeli opposition, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said on X, “The march in Jerusalem tonight is a blatant attempt to ignite more squares and cause more destruction and death.”
Lapid added, “When I was prime minister, I agreed to organize marches in Jerusalem, but not violent provocations. If there was a real government in Israel, this would not have been allowed.”
Jerusalem’s situation is heightened by Israel’s ongoing Gaza war, resulting in over 17,000 Palestinian deaths following Hamas attack on southern Israel’s settlements and violations against Palestinian holy sites.
