Egypt warned on Sunday that the Israeli forces' continuous policy of violating religious sanctities would undermine efforts to resume peace negotiations with Palestine, after Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, injuring dozensof Palestinian worshipers.

Egypt, in a statement issued by the ministry of foreign affairs, described the attack as "an unacceptable escalation against Islamic holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Following Sunday's dawn prayers Israeli occupation forces stormed the courtyard of the mosque and fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at the worshipers, witnesses told AFP.

For several years Egypt has operated as a negotiator between the Palestinians and Israelis, including during the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza, which killed 2,100 Palestinians and 67 Israeli soldiers.

Earlier this month, Egypt accepted the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's invitation to join the Middle East Quartet meeting on 30 September to discuss diplomatic solutions to restore Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Ban's invitation comes in addition to a decision to include Arab states in diplomatic attempts to help revive the peace process.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been on hold since last summer, following Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

Egypt also warned against the extreme violation of the continued assault of religious sanctities, which could also undermine efforts to resume negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.



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