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Amman, Feb 19 (IANS) Jordan Sunday condemned breaking into Al-Aqsa mosque by Israeli settlers, calling on Arabs and Muslims to intervene to halt such violations, media reports said. "Jewish settlers, a Knesset member and several radical Israelis and police members stormed into Al-Aqsa mosque and stepped on the carpet inside the mosque while wearing their shoes and chased worshippers inside the mosque," Jordan's Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Salam Abbadi said Sunday, Xinhua reported, citing the state-run Petra news agency. "We condemn these practices that represent a stark violation," said the minister. The minister warned against the consequences of allowing armed Jewish settlers to repeatedly break into the Al-Aqsa mosque, adding that it is considered a "declared war" against one of the holiest places for Muslims. The Jordanian official urged the international community to intervene in this regard. Several Palestinian worshippers were injured Sunday and three were arrested during clashes that erupted between Palestinians and Israeli police and border guards in al-Haram al-Sharif compound in the old city of Jerusalem after Israeli settlers attempted to storm it, the Palestinian News Agency WAFA reported. Palestinians gathered in the compound since dawn following calls by extremist settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and perform Jewish rituals in it. Several worshippers and three Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured in scuffles; whereas three Palestinians were arrested under the pretext of throwing stones at right wing extremist Israelis and preventing them from entering the mosque, WAFA reported.
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