Sat Apr 19 12:36:32 UTC 2025: ## International Condemnation Demanded After Threats to Destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque
**Jerusalem, [Date]** – The Palestinian government has issued a stark warning over escalating threats against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, calling on the international community to take immediate action. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expressed “extreme concern” over videos and posts circulating on Israeli social media platforms that depict the mosque’s destruction and the subsequent construction of a Jewish temple.
One such video, titled “Next Year in Jerusalem,” graphically simulates the demolition of Al-Aqsa and has fueled Palestinian fears. The Ministry condemned these posts as “systematic incitement to escalate the targeting of Christian and Islamic holy sites” in occupied East Jerusalem. They are urging the international community and the UN to address this “incitement with utmost seriousness” and take appropriate legal measures.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, administered by Jordan but with access controlled by Israeli forces, has become a focal point of rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Right-wing Israeli politicians and settlers frequently visit the site, performing religious rituals under military protection, despite a decades-old status quo that prohibits Jewish prayer there. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s past pronouncements about building a synagogue on the compound have further inflamed the situation.
The calls for the construction of a “Third Temple” on the site of Al-Aqsa, once considered a fringe movement, are gaining traction in Israel. Palestinians fear this mirrors the partitioning of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, highlighting the increasing vulnerability of their holy sites. The recent surge in threats comes amidst heightened tensions following the recent war in Gaza.
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