Condemnation of Violations on Masjid Al Aqsa and a Call for the Ending of the Murderous “Status Quo” in Occupied Palestine

UUCSA PRESS STATEMENT
(For Immediate Release)

 

The United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) condemns the recent act of deliberate provocation by a far-right Israeli cabinet minister. On Tuesday, Itamar Ben-Gvir, accompanied by his security personnel, stormed the Al Aqsa Noble Sanctuary in Occupied Jerusalem. Masjid al Aqsa and its precincts constitute the third most sacred place in Islam. The preservation of its sanctity is a matter of religious duty for Muslims, the world over.

 

Ben-Gvir immediately followed up his incursion into the Noble Sanctuary compound with a statement evidently aimed at escalating tensions in Occupied Palestine by demonstrably seeking confrontation. It is no secret that the once-convicted Ben-Gvir, a known admirer of the 1994 Hebron Massacre perpetrator, Baruch Goldstein, is an Arab-hater who seeks to drive Palestinians in the occupied territories away from their homeland.

 

Ben-Gvir’s stunt, which has received widespread denunciation around the world, should serve as a clarion call on the threats to the region’s stability. It is an early indication of the brinkmanship of the new government in Israel, constituted by some of the most notorious far-right Zionists of recent times.

 

On Wednesday, an historic cemetery with many Palestinians graves was desecrated and vandalised in what appears to be a hate crime inspired by religious bigotry. Coupled with the regular raids in the Occupied West Bank where Ben-Gvir is an illegal settler, the latest incidents signal a new calculation that is aimed at a further subjugation of Palestinians and a renewal of the Judaization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The emerging pattern of increased attacks by Israeli forces and Jewish religious zealots reveals an intent to make life for Palestinians under occupation ever more unbearable.

 

Under the so-called “status quo”, it is on record that 2022 turned out to be the deadliest year since 2016 in the occupied West Bank where civilians, a journalist and young Palestinians were among those killed in Israeli raids. UUCSA therefore appeals to the world’s leading and regional powers to take necessary steps in pressuring Israel, beyond the call for a maintenance of such an untenable “status quo”, by ending the illegal occupation.

 

It is every Muslim’s moral duty to extend our support to the people of Palestine as they resist the occupation and stand in the frontline of the defence of Masjid Al Aqsa. We ask Allah the Almighty to protect Masjid Al Aqsa, the land of Palestine and its people.

 

Issued by:

Y Patel (Moulana)
UUCSA Secretary General

 

13 Jumaadal Aakhirah 1444 / 06 Jan 2023