Jakarta (Antara News) - The Indonesian Regional Representative Councils (DPDs) Deputy Chairman Farouk Muhammad strongly condemned Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and has urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to take up the case at the United Nations (UN).

The DPD has requested President Jokowi to intensify political diplomacy in the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to end the gross human right violations committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinians, he emphasized here on Thursday.

"The Palestinian crisis, which has been happening for tens of years and mainly concerning political issues, has expanded to become an interfaith issue as well," he pointed out.

The senator revealed that the DPD had planned to send a written statement regarding the Al-Aqsa violation case to President Jokowi, and also, mostly likely to the UN representative office in Jakarta.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second mosque built on Earth and the third holiest mosque in Islam after Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and Nabawi Mosque in Medina. Al-Aqsa was also the first Qibla, the direction to which Muslims faced while offering prayers.

So far, the restrictions imposed by the Israeli Zionist regime on Palestinian Muslims visiting Al-Aqsa bars entry to all men aged 50 and under.

Furthermore, women and children are arbitrarily denied entry into Al-Aqsa Mosque on a regular basis, thereby significantly violating the religious freedom of Palestinians.

Tensions have lately escalated in occupied Jerusalem as Israeli authorities gave Jewish settlers the go-ahead to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque while continuing to ban access to Muslims to its plazas.

The Palestinians are rightly concerned as the illegal settler groups, who come to Al-Aqsa, openly declare their intentions to occupy Al-Aqsa, demolish its structures, and build a Jewish temple in its place.

Recently, Israel totally banned entry of all Muslims to Al-Aqsa, which triggered widespread condemnations from several Muslim-majority countries.

Farouk Muhammad considered the total closure of Al-Aqsa and the restrictions imposed on Muslims accessing the mosque as an open act of provocation and discrimination against Muslim worshipers.

The DPD has urged the UN Security Council to take concrete actions against Israel and to impose a sanction for violating the human rights of the Palestinian people.

In the meantime, Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel and informed the UN Security Council on Wednesday (Nov. 5) that it was ready to implement measures to stop Israeli aggression on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem after Israeli forces stormed the compound.

"Jordan considers such serious and outrageous actions by Israel as an unprecedented escalation," Ambassador Dina Kawar remarked in a letter to the president of the Security Council. (*)
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Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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