Egypt's Mufti condemns Israeli attacks on holy sites

Egypt's Mufti Shawqi Allam condemned on Thursday Israeli attacks on holy sites and the provocation to Muslim feelings regarding the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque before Muslim worshipers, and opening it for Jewish settlers under the pretext of Jewish celebrations of the Passover. Allam, during a meeting on Thursday with Mohamed Jamal, Deputy Palestinian Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, called on all Palestinian forces and factions to unite and shun differences and rivalries. The Palestinian issue is an issue connected with the rights of the Muslim Umma (Islamic world), not just that of the rights of the Palestinians, said Egypt's Mufti, calling for a united, firm Arab and Islamic stance against these repeated attacks by the Israeli occupiers against the holy sites in Palestine.