Fayez denounces Israeli 'barbaric practices' against Palestinians

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Saturday denounced Israeli "barbaric practices" against the Palestinian people and the ongoing attacks against Al Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites. 

"The silence of the international community on these racist and savage practices against Palestinians is disgraceful," Fayez said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The president also urged the international community to shoulder its moral and legal responsibility to stop the “herds of settlers and state-sponsored terrorism of the Israeli extremist right government against Palestinians".

On Friday, popular movements organised a march after the Friday prayer near Al Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman in support for Al Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah residents. 

Hundreds of people took part in the event, during which they voiced rejection of Israeli practices against Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalemites.

Also in Zarqa, following the Friday prayer, popular and partisan movements organised a sit-in for solidarity with residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and all neighbourhoods of Jerusalem and Palestine. 

The Lower House on Friday called on the United Nations, its affiliated international organisations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to take a "decisive stance" to stop the Israeli practices in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

In a statement on Saturday, the chamber said that Jordanians "stand by the side of the brotherly Palestinian people in their struggle to obtain their legitimate rights, including the establishment of an independent state of their own with Jerusalem as its capital".

The House will continue to consult and coordinate with the Arab and international parliaments to form an international parliamentary position to support and protect Jerusalem and its people, defend the Palestinian people and support their steadfastness to restore their legitimate rights on their national soil, the statement said.

The House is following up on developments in the holy city of Jerusalem with high concern, especially on attacks carried out by the Israeli authorities, settlers and extremist Jewish organisations against residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to seize their homes, according to the statement.

"The House views Israel's practices in Jerusalem as clear evidence that the settler racist apartheid constitutes a blatant assault on the anti-racist values, principles and humanitarian laws and a flagrant challenge to international conventions, as well as a threat to security, peace and stability in the region," the statement added. 

Also on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry denounced the storming of Israeli authorities of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and their attack on worshippers. 

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Deifallah Fayez urged Israeli authorities to take out forces from the premises of Al Haram Al Sharif and leave worshippers perform religious rituals safely and freely during the nights of the holy month of Ramadan, according to a ministry statement.

He also condemned the "heinous attacks on Jerusalemites in the surroundings of Al Aqsa Mosque, in the Old City and in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its escalations and violations in East Jerusalem.  

Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Khalaileh on Friday condemned Israeli forces’ storming of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and attacking the worshipers during Taraweeh prayer in the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, carried by Petra, Khalaileh said that such actions provoke the feelings of some two billion Muslims across the world, praising the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites and stressing that Al Aqsa Mosque/ Al Haram Al Sharif in the occupied Jerusalem is a place of worship for Muslims only.

The Islamic Centrist Party on Saturday condemned the Israeli attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in the occupied Jerusalem. In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the party called on Arab countries to adopt a unified stance against these Israeli practices, commending the Jordanian role in supporting Palestinian and rejecting the forced eviction of residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.