By Spy Uganda CorrespondentĀ
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict rekindled earlier this month, starting with clashes between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem after reports emerged that Muslim believers were denied access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The situation deteriorated even further when an Israeli court ruled to evict several Arab families.
Over the past several days, both sides have attacked each other, with Hamas firing over 3,300 rockets towards Israel since the start of the hostilities. The IDF has launched hundreds of rockets targeting militants’ facilities in Gaza.
So far, the escalation has claimed hundreds of lives, injuring thousands more.
The Palestinian Authority has warned for years of a possible outbreak of religious war due to “Israel’s violations of holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as extremist actions by Jewish settlers”, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Palestinian leader’s religious and Islamic affairs adviser said.
“If the status quo is preserved as it is now and if Israel and its settlers do not stop provoking the religious feelings of the Palestinians and Muslims in general, then the world will face a religious war, the fire of which will go beyond Palestine, and the entire world will pay for it”, the official noted
He added that the reaction of the Arab and Muslim world, as well as other countries, to the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories is not sufficient.
“The reaction of Arab, Muslim and other countries across the world is not sufficient so far, it is much smaller than it should be, but we are aware of the reality, in which the world lives”, Al-Habbash said.
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According to the presidential adviser, the Palestinian authorities will continue efforts to garner international support, both official and public, in order to “protect Palestine and the legitimate rights of its people”.
“Within the context, we work in all directions, especially since the focus of the current problem is Jerusalem and its shrines, which concern the entire Islamic world”, he added.
