UN Condemns Desecration of Mosque by Israeli Soldiers
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The United Nations strongly rebuked the desecration of a mosque in the occupied West Bank, following a circulated video showcasing Israeli soldiers engaging in Jewish rituals within the Muslim religious space.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, expressed firm disapproval, stating, "The desecration of religious sites should not be tolerated and is against common decency, to say the least. Religious sites need to be respected and cannot be perverted in one way or another."
The condemnation comes in response to a video shared by Israel's far-right minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, revealing Israeli soldiers performing Jewish rituals during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Turkey also criticized the actions, labeling them as "provocative." Oncu Keceli, a spokesperson for Turkey's foreign ministry, declared, "We strongly condemn the provocations of Israeli soldiers who stormed the Jenin Refugee Camp, and disrespected the sanctity of a place of worship by entering the mosque."
Ankara called for the punishment of the perpetrators and an end to "settler terror."
"In East Jerusalem [al-Quds] and the West Bank, where tensions are running extremely high due to settler terror and heavy pressure and attacks by Israeli security forces against Palestinians, we expect attacks on Muslim holy places to be ended immediately and those who perpetrate these provocations to be punished in the most severe way," Keceli added.
The Palestinian government echoed these sentiments, denouncing the Israeli raid on Jenin as a "dangerous escalation" that fans religious tension. The ongoing raid, the 15th by the Israeli regime into the occupied territories since launching its onslaught on Gaza on October 7, resulted in 12 reported casualties, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed nearly 19,000 Palestinians and injured 50,900 others.
Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble in Gaza, which is under “complete siege” by Israel.
