Egypt condemns storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli National Security Minister

CAIRO – 21 May 2023: Egypt condemned Sunday the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accompanied by a group of extremists, stipulating that such provoking acts contradict the wisdom and sense of responsibility state officials must enjoy.  

The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the consecutive stormings of Al Aqsa Mosque would not change its existing legal and historic status. It noted that the mosque is an Islamic establishment, calling on the Israeli side to immediately abstain from escalation practices that fuel existing tensions on the occupied lands.

Egypt, a longtime mediator in Gaza, secured the agreement of both Israel and Palestinian group Islamic Jihad to its latest ceasefire proposal, the Guardian newspaper quoted an Egyptian security official as saying on May 14.

A ceasefire has taken effect in and around the Gaza Strip after five days of cross-border exchanges that have killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza and two people in Israel.
 

The truce was due to take effect at 10pm local time on Saturday, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said. But, in the final 30 minutes before, dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, prompting renewed airstrikes.
 

Most of the rockets were intercepted by Israeli air defenses.