The Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday condemned the storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem by hundreds of Israeli settlers, accusing them of violating the sanctity of the holy site and provoking Muslims.

In a statement issued by Acting General Guide Salah Abdel Haq, the Brotherhood said settlers entered the mosque compound on Monday, Sept. 28, and performed what it described as Talmudic prayers and religious rituals, including singing and dancing.

The group also condemned remarks attributed to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who participated in the incursion.

The Brotherhood quoted Ben-Gvir as saying, "We are the owners of the place here" and "Today we pray in Al-Aqsa," describing the statements as a further provocation and a challenge to the status of the mosque.

The group stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque is a sacred site for Muslims and argued that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory does not grant it sovereignty over the mosque or East Jerusalem.

It called on Arab and Muslim governments and institutions to take action against what it described as repeated violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque and provocative statements by Israeli officials.

The Brotherhood specifically urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Arab states and the League of Arab States to confront the actions and statements concerning the mosque.

It also called on Muslims to express their opposition through political and media channels and to pressure their governments to adopt measures in support of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause.

The group urged intellectuals, writers and opinion leaders to highlight what it described as the Islamic significance of Jerusalem and the Palestinian right to the city's holy sites, while keeping the Palestinian issue prominent in public discourse.

The Brotherhood referred to UN Security Council Resolution 476, adopted in 1980, which declared that Israeli measures seeking to alter the character and status of Jerusalem had no legal validity.

It also cited the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The court concluded that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and called for an end to that presence.

The Brotherhood said developments in other parts of the region should not divert international attention from what it described as continuing violations in Jerusalem.

"The occupation has consistently sought to distract the world with crimes elsewhere, using one atrocity to obscure another," the statement said, warning of what it described as growing threats to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The statement concluded by citing a verse from the Quran's Al-Isra chapter referring to the Prophet Muhammad's night journey from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. (ILKHA)