
Israeli police officers detain a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against the planned evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem, Saturday, May 8, 2021. AP
Arab countries, including four that last year agreed to normalise relations with Israel, have condemned a weekend of violence after hundreds of Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces.
The violence around east Jerusalem's revered Al-Aqsa mosque compound and the Old City is the worst since 2017, fuelled by a years-long bid by Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian homes.
Criticism of Israeli conduct has poured in from Sudan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain , all nations that last year agreed to normalise, or normalised, relations with Tel Aviv.
Khartoum labelled Israeli measures in Jerusalem against Palestinians as 'repression', and "coercive action" in a foreign ministry statement late Saturday.
It called on the Israeli government 'to refrain from taking unilateral steps that diminish the chances for resuming peace negotiations.'
The UAE and Bahrain condemned Friday's stroming of Al-Aqsa mosque by Israeli security forces, and the ensuing crackdown on worshippers seeking to access the site.
Abu Dhabi urged Israeli authorities to 'take responsibility for de-escalation" of violence at the holy site, while Manama called on the Israeli government "to stop these rejected provocations against the people of Jerusalem.'
Morocco expressed 'deep concern' over the violence saying King Mohammed VI "considers these violations likely to fuel tensions."
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it 'rejected' Israeli plans to evacuate Palestinian households from Jerusalem, and called for the reinstatement of the pre-1967 borders.
Meanwhile, Egypt stressed the need to “halt any activities that violate the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the holy month of Ramadan and the Islamic, and the Christian Arab identity of Jerusalem city and its sanctities and alter its ongoing historical and legal status."
Egypt reiterated rejection of any illegal activities that seek to undermine the legal and unwavering rights of the Palestinian people, particularly the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories as well as confiscation of lands and displacement of Palestinians.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it, in a move not recognised by most of the international community.
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