Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - The East Java chapter of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has strongly condemned the attack against Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex last Friday (May 7), and called for an international sanction against Israel.
Head of the NU East Java K.H. Marzuqi Mustamar said here on Sunday that NU East Java also instructed nahdliyin (members of NU) to read Qunut Nazilah and Hizin Nashor prayers for the rest of the Ramadan fasting month this year.
"This is a form of solidarity, asking for help from Allah SWT to restore peace in Palestine in particular and also the world," he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the NU East Java K.H. Abdussalam Shohib condemned the Israeli attacks on Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and urged the Indonesian government to launch a strong protest at the United Nations.
"Violent practices and obvious violations continue to be carried out by Israel against Palestinians, such as the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. NU firmly urges the government to launch an official protest at the UN," the chief of the Denanyar Islamic boarding school in Jombang, said.
"Indonesia equally condemns the use of force against Palestinian civilians in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex which has resulted in hundreds of casualties and thereby hurting the feeling of the Ummah," the Indonesian Foreign Ministry tweeted on its official Twitter account on Saturday.
Palestinians have been protesting against the forced displacement of people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood following an Israeli court order, Aljazeera reported on May 5, 2021.
The Israeli district court in East Jerusalem approved a decision to vacate six Palestinian families from their homes in May in favour of Israeli settlers. The same court ruled that another seven families in Sheikh Jarrah are to leave their homes by August 1.
Palestinians fear that it is part of an ongoing effort by Israeli settlers to take control of Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said such forced evictions and use of force are contrary to various UN Security Council resolutions, International Humanitarian Law, particularly the IV Geneva Convention of 1949, and have the potential to increase tension and instability in the region.
Aljazeera reported that Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinians at Al-Aqsa as anger grows over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.
At least 205 Palestinians and 17 officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear.
