The Aqsa Mosque preacher Sheikh Ismail Nawahda urged the world community to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in his Friday sermon that was attended by tens of thousands of Palestinians from Occupied Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
He said that Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque belong to the Muslims and they will never give them up.
Nawahda pointed to some positive resolutions issued in 2016 regarding al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem especially the resolution by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) stipulating that the whole area of al-Aqsa Mosque compound including the Western Wall (the Buraq Wall) is an exclusive Muslim right.
He added that the resolution refuted the Israeli allegations which aim to impose fait accompli on the holy city following a policy of ethnic cleansing and changing the names of places and streets.
The preacher also pointed to a second resolution passed on 23rd December by the UN Security Council providing for the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem.
He pointed out that the resolution demands the halt of the Israeli settlement activities the major obstacle to achieving peace and stability in the region.
“This resolution confirms the historical right of the Palestinian people with an international consensus” he added.
Al-Aqsa preacher considered these resolutions a step in the right direction.
However he continued the Israeli occupation authority didn’t stop its crimes and schemes against the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem including the confiscation of lands construction of settlements demolition of houses for being allegedly unlicensed imposition of high taxes on Jerusalemites regular incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque and tunnel excavations.
The IOA crimes also included field executions of Palestinians the prevention of the Adan (call of prayer) and detention of dozens of young people on daily basis and then hold them in jails that violate the basic principles of human rights the preacher elaborated.
Sheikh Nawahda called on the Palestinians to unite to be able to fight these crimes and schemes. He asked the Arab and Muslim countries and the international community to assume their full responsibility towards the Palestinian issue work to end the Israeli occupation and bring freedom to the Palestinian people.
