Riyadh, August 14 (RHC)-- Saudi Arabia has condemned the provocative intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy occupied city of al-Quds by Israeli settlers.  The Saudi Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called the Israelis' move a flagrant violation of the mosque and reiterated its call for respecting the historical status quo of al-Quds.

“The Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms the flagrant and continuous storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli occupation officials and settlers,” the ministry said in its statement.

The Saudi ministry reiterated the need to respect religious sanctuaries, warning the Tel Aviv regime against “the continuous violation of international law and of Jerusalem’s historical status quo and of the provocation of millions of Muslims across the world.”

It also called on the international community to assume its responsibility towards ending “these continuous Israeli violations.”

Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led hundreds of settlers into the mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday morning.  More than 1,600 Israelis intruded into the mosque.  

According to the al-Aqsa Mosque affairs department, locally referred to as the Waqf office, the intrusion came in response to a call from extremist Jewish groups claiming to commemorate Tisha B'Av, an annual Jewish fast day that marks the supposed occurrence of several disasters in past Jewish history.

The Waqf office reported that the Israeli regime forces had prevented worshipers from accessing the courtyards of the mosque, and deployed a significant number of soldiers at the compound’s entrances to enable the provocation.

The settlers, under protection from military forces, also assaulted Palestinian worshipers at the site.