Pakistan’s Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has made a heartfelt appeal to the Pakistani people to necessarily support the Palestinian people and their struggle against the Israeli occupation and to remember them in their special prayers in the holy month of Ramadan.
In a statement JI Emir Sirajul Haq urged the Pakistani ulama (religious scholars) and preachers to raise awareness in their Friday khutbas (sermons) about the Palestinian people’s national cause and the need to support their steadfastness.
Sirajul Haq also called for highlighting in the coming khutbas the importance of the Aqsa Mosque and its historical and religious status and talk about the ongoing Israeli violations in Occupied Jerusalem.
“The last two Fridays of Ramadan should be exclusively dedicated to the Palestinian people’s heroic struggle and their quest for independence” the JI chief said.
He described the Jerusalemite people as “the first line of defense for the Aqsa Mosque” and called for supporting them.
He expressed his deep concern that one of the Aqsa Mosque’s main gates Bab al-Amud has been barricaded by the Israeli occupation forces therefore restricting access of Palestinians to the Mosque.
The Islamic leader also pointed to the recent clashes that erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces and Jewish settlers’ attempts to hold provocative gatherings in Bab al-Amud area during the holy month of Ramadan.
“The Israeli occupation forces are always on the lookout to cordon off the Aqsa Mosque from all four sides in order to restrict access of Palestinians to the site. They aim to erase the historical imprints of the Islamic culture from Jerusalem and Judaize the city by force” he said.
He also slammed the international community for “acting as a silent spectator to these blatant [Israeli] human rights violations.”
