Chairman of the mosque Reyyaz Salley said that Sri Lankan Muslims supported the present Government with the expectation that the community would be supported and assisted. He asserted that the Government’s move to abstain from voting was a disappointment as it was obvious that Israeli land belongs to Palestine.

The UNESCO resolution, which was submitted by Palestine and supported by Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Sudan; strongly condemned “the escalating Israeli aggression and illegal measures and called on Israel, the occupying power, to respect the historic status quo and to immediately stop these measures”.

It also criticised the “continuous storming of Haram al-Sharif by the Israeli right-wing extremists and uniformed forces”.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

(ft.lk)