The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, highlighted this Saturday “the strongest solidarity with the just Palestinian cause”, one day after the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
“We condemn the assault by Israeli forces on the Al Aqsa Mosque, when hundreds of faithful, including women, the elderly and children, were in prayer on Friday,” the Cuban foreign minister wrote on Twitter.
These incidents resulted in at least 153 Palestinians injured, according to the Red Crescent emergency service, while the Israeli Police indicated that about three of their officers were injured.
The new chapter of tensions around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict coincided with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, the celebrations of Good Friday and the beginning of the Jewish Passover.
We condemn the assault by Israeli forces on the Al Aqsa Mosque, when hundreds of worshipers, including women, the elderly and children, were attending Friday prayers. We ratify the strongest solidarity with the just Palestinian cause.
– Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) April 16, 2022
According to the version of the Israeli Police, the clashes were triggered when Palestinian demonstrators threw stones and fires on the Esplanade, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, specifically in the occupied eastern part of the city.
The Palestinians then barricaded themselves in the Al Aqsa Mosque, which was later stormed by Israeli security forces.
The Partition Plan for Palestine approved by the UN in 1947 gave birth to the State of Israel and triggered the first Arab-Israeli war, one of the longest conflicts in the Middle East.
Since then, Cuba has advocated for a two-state solution as the only alternative and for the right of the Palestinian people to build their own state within the pre-1967 borders and with its capital in East Jerusalem.
