Press Release
On the 57th Anniversary of the Burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque.. "Parliamentarians for al-Quds and Palestine": The Occupation's Fires Are Still Burning, and We Call for Urgent Global Parliamentary Action to Protect the Sanctities
Today, August 21st, marks the 57th anniversary of the crime of burning the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. This comes at a time when Al-Aqsa Mosque, the city of Jerusalem, and the Palestinian territories as a whole are witnessing an unprecedented Israeli escalation, amidst the continuation of the systematic war of genocide against the Gaza Strip and the escalation of attacks in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem. This confirms that the fires set at Al-Aqsa in 1969 have not been extinguished, but have rather expanded to target the entire Palestinian existence.
We in the "League of Parliamentarians for al-Quds and Palestine," as we recall this painful anniversary, emphasize the following positions:
First: The Continuation of the Burning Crime in Multiple Forms: The daily crimes committed by the extreme right-wing occupation government, the repeated incursions led by occupation ministers and settler groups, the performance of public Talmudic rituals, and attempts to impose Judaization symbols represent a direct continuation of the burning crime. They constitute a dangerous attempt to change the historical and legal status quo and to establish the temporal and spatial division of the mosque.
Second: Interconnectedness of Aggression Tracks: We affirm that the aggression against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is in no way separate from the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing waged by the occupation against the Gaza Strip, as well as the policies of annexation, confiscation, and settler terrorism in the West Bank, as part of a comprehensive "decisive conflict" plan aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.
Third: Call for Deterrent Parliamentary Legislation: We call on Arab, Islamic, and international parliaments to move immediately from the realm of condemnation and denunciation to the realm of effective action and legislation. This should be done by taking firm steps to impose political and economic sanctions on the occupation, classifying settler groups that desecrate Al-Aqsa as "terrorist organizations," and activating the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute occupation leaders.
Fourth: Adherence to the Legal and Historical Status Quo: We reiterate, based on the principles of international law and international legitimacy resolutions—foremost among them the resolutions of the UN Security Council and UNESCO—that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in its entirety of 144 dunams (144,000 square meters), including the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall and all its courtyards, facilities, and walls, is an exclusively Islamic place of worship and an exclusive right for Muslims that accepts neither temporal nor spatial division nor partnership. We consider any attempts at Judaization or imposing new facts on the ground to be a flagrant violation of international law.
Friday
August 21
League of Parliamentarians for al-Quds and Palestine
