The Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, has condemned the latest extremist attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that any change to the status quo at the specific mosque is equivalent to a threat to the status quo of the revered Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Patriarch Theophilos, in a statement issued this week, said increasing attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque are a “..blatant aggression against religious rights”.
He affirmed that freedom of worship is guaranteed in all international laws and charters, and that the practices of extremist groups against Islamic and Christian holy sites are a clear violation of Muslims and Christians’ right to exercise freedom of worship, and that these aggressive and provocative acts are to be condemned and denounced.