News – Middle East: Hezbollah in Lebanon strongly condemned the desecration of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of Zionist settlers over three consecutive days.

In a statement issued this evening, Hezbollah said:
"These aggressive practices, in which the enemy and its settlers exploit religious holidays and occasions to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque, are a cause for outrage among all Muslims worldwide and a provocation to the sentiments of Arab and Islamic peoples and nations. They must prompt serious action to halt these violations."

"The storming of the mosque courtyards, the performance of Talmudic rituals, and the provocative actions carried out under the protection of occupation forces and led by extremist Knesset members represent a blatant and hostile attempt to impose a new and dangerous reality," the statement added.

Hezbollah emphasized that these actions fall "within the framework of the Zionist settlement and Judaization project, which seeks to alter the Arab and Islamic identity of Al-Quds and its holy sites—believing that its crimes in Gaza and the West Bank will distract the Ummah from its repeated violations of the First Qibla, the core and crown of the Palestinian cause."

The statement affirmed: "The peoples of our Arab and Islamic nation possess a high level of awareness and understanding of the need to raise their voices through all available means. Silence in the face of these violations and massacres only encourages the Israeli enemy to continue its aggression—in Al-Quds, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen—and to cross all red lines."

Hezbollah called on "the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, religious institutions, scholars of the Ummah, and the free people of the world to act urgently, assume their historic responsibilities, and raise their voices loudly against the ongoing desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque."

The statement concluded with a call to "work effectively and forcefully to stop the Zionist crimes—fully backed by the United States—against Palestine and the region."

Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied East al-Quds, under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces, to mark the third day of the Jewish Passover holiday.

In a statement, the Islamic Endowments Department said more than 1,220 settlers forced their way into the sacred site from Mughrabi Gate area, west of the holy mosque, on Tuesday.

The settlers performed provocative tours and rituals in the mosque’s courtyards, including public dances and chants.

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 944 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers, and more than 7,000 others have been injured in the West Bank.

Last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds