By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH
Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek has denounced recent Israeli actions in East Jerusalem, warning they could jeopardize a "two-state solution" to the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah with Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, Zaoralek said that certain Israeli policies – like closing the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to worshippers and continued settlement building – contravened international law.
He also asserted his country's support for the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, saying a two-state solution was the only way to end the decades-long conflict.
Al-Maliki, for his part, said that recent Israeli actions in Jerusalem constituted "a declaration of war."
He also slammed fresh Israeli settlement plans, saying they served to undermine the already-stalled peace process and the prospects for a Palestinian state.
Tension has run high in East Jerusalem since Israel closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound last week after an extremist rabbi was injured in a West Jerusalem shooting.
Israeli authorities reopened Al-Aqsa on Friday following a day of violent clashes with Palestinian protesters, but barred male Muslim worshippers under 50 from entering the site.
The closure of Al-Aqsa – along with last week's killing of a young Palestinian suspected of shooting the rabbi – has fueled protests by angry Palestinians in the holy city.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
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