Aoun supports Palestinians as tensions escalate in Jerusalem
President Michel Aoun expressed Wednesday his support for Palestinians and Jerusalemites, after a weekend of violence in Jerusalem.
"The systematic attacks of the Israeli occupation forces on al-Aqsa Mosque will not change the identity of the Holy City," Aoun said.
He added that al-Aqsa is being "Judaized" in a "blatant violation to international laws and conventions."
"Pressure must be put to end these violations," Aoun added.
Early on Tuesday, Israel carried out its first air strike on the Gaza Strip in months, in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave after a weekend of violence around al-Aqsa.
The latest tensions in Jerusalem have focused on the highly contested mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Israeli-annexed Old City.
Palestinian worshippers gathering there for Ramadan prayers have been outraged by visits by religious Jews under heavy Israeli police protection -- as well as restrictions on their own access.
The violence, coinciding with the Jewish Passover festival as well as the Muslim holy month, has sparked fears of a repeat of last year's events, when similar circumstances sparked an 11-day war that levelled parts of Gaza.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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