Egypt’s Al-Azhar condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza
ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has condemned Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed and 80 others injured when the Israeli army launched airstrikes on the seaside territory on Friday.
“Al-Azhar denounces this unreasonable and unacceptable global silence, which encourages the Zionist entity to continue its immoral and barbaric violations of human rights, and its repeated attacks against our innocent Palestinian brothers,” it said in a statement, referring to Israel.
The prestigious institution termed the Israeli practices against Palestinians as “a black spot on the record of the international community and humanity.”
It called on Arabs and Muslims “to unite to support the Palestinians and their just cause as well as their legitimate struggle.”
Tension escalated across the Palestinian territories on Monday when Israeli forces detained Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, in a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The Israeli army has imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip, including the closure of border crossings with the Palestinian territory, amid fears of a response from Islamic Jihad to the arrest.
The Israeli army said Saturday that its military operations in Gaza may last for a week.