Malaysia condemns Al-Aqsa storming as 'grave provocation'

Malaysia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned Israeli settlers' storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, denouncing the raising of Israeli flags inside the Muslim holy site as a grave provocation and a flagrant violation of its sanctity. In a statement issued from Kuala Lumpur, the ministry warned that attempts to Judaize Al-Aqsa — Islam's third holiest site — constitute a desecration of the site, accusing the Israeli regime of backing actions aimed at altering the cultural, historical and religious character of the compound.

Call for international accountability

"Such actions are provocative and unacceptable and disregard the custodial role over Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem," the ministry said, adding that the international community must not remain silent while hostility occurs in plain sight. Malaysia urged the United Nations to take immediate concrete measures to halt ongoing violations and ensure Israel is held accountable. Reaffirming its solidarity with the Palestinian people, the ministry reiterated support for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Sunday's raid and decades of incursions

The statement followed dozens of Israeli settlers entering the compound on Sunday under police protection to perform provocative rituals. Since 2003, Israeli authorities have unilaterally permitted such incursions during morning and afternoon prayers daily, excluding Fridays and Saturdays. Palestinians say Israel is intensifying efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem and erase its Arab identity, regarding the eastern sector as the capital of their future state in accordance with international resolutions that do not recognize Israel's 1967 occupation or 1980 annexation.