The violence and tension in Al Aqsa Mosque is caused by the storming of the holy place by extremist Jewish settlers and the Israeli threats to divide the holy mosque and deny Muslims access to it, Director of Jerusalem Awqaf Department Sheikh Azzam Al Khatib said in a statement. In a statement was issued on Tuesday night in response to statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he accused the Awqaf Department of allowing worshippers to enter the mosque and confront the storming of the mosque by extremist Jewish settlers. Sheikh Al Khatib affirmed that the mosque hosts about half a million Muslims on Lailatul Qadr, without reporting any single violence incident, adding that more than 300,000 Muslims pour into the holy shrine each Friday during Ramadan without any incidents as well. The top Islamic official urged Israel to distinguish between guests and worshippers on the one hand and assaulters on the other. The Awqaf Department and its staff, Al Khatib added, are committed to protecting the worshippers at the mosquea as well as Muslims and non-Muslim visitors as long as they respect the sanctity of the mosque among Muslims. He also urged the Israeli police not to deny Muslims access to the mosque. Al Khatib added that the core reason for the tension in the holy mosque over the past few weeks lies in the Israeli attempts to change the identity and authenticity of Al Aqsa Mosque, by claiming that non-Muslims have rights in the holy place. Such attempts, he affirmed, will be confronted by the Jordanian Awqaf Department in Jerusalem and the whole Muslim world.
