Doha - Media & Communication Dept. - May 18

The State of Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the storming of an Israeli minister, parliamentarians, and settlers into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as part of the so-called Flag March. It considers it a flagrant violation of international law and the Hashemite guardianship over the sanctities in occupied Jerusalem.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns of the escalatory policy adopted by the Israeli government in the occupied Palestinian territories. It also stresses that attempts to prejudice the religious and historical status of Al-Aqsa Mosque are not only an attack on the Palestinians, but also on millions of Muslims around the world.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds the Israeli occupation authorities solely responsible for the cycle of violence that will result from this systematic escalatory policy against the Palestinian people and their Islamic and Christian lands and holy sites. The Ministry calls on the international community to take urgent action to stop these attacks.

The Ministry reiterates the firm position of the State of Qatar regarding the justice of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, including the full right to practice their religious rituals without restrictions, and to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.