"I addressed during the meeting that the representatives of OIC member states should join with one solid stance to respond to the development at the Al-Aqsa complex," Marsudi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi here on Tuesday summoned ambassadors of the IOC member states to attend a briefing addressing the crisis at Al-Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem, Palestine.

During the briefing, Marsudi underlined that Israel has restricted access to Muslim brothers and sisters of Palestine to worship at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, thus violating the freedom to worship.

"I addressed during the meeting that the representatives of OIC member states should join with one solid stance to respond to the development at the Al-Aqsa complex," Retno Marsudi remarked.

The situation at Al-Aqsa complex has turned into an intense one.

Israel had installed metal detectors and cameras at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound since July 14, after a shooting incident that killed two Israeli policemen at the site.

Israeli has limited the access to the mosque by Palestinian Muslim worshipers in order to prevent further violence.

However, the Israeli measures have angered Palestinians and the Muslim world, which regard them as an attempt by Israel to claim further control over the compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site for Jews.

Daily clashes have erupted between Palestinians and Israeli security forces since the installation of detectors, resulting in the death of five Palestinians in the past week.

"We should not remain silent in response to this situation, and we should do something to prevent further violence at the Al-Aqsa," she revealed.

Indonesias stance in addressing the situation in Palestine has received a positive response from the OIC member states representatives.

Several ambassadors who attended the briefing were from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Mozambique, UAE, and Qatar.

Marsudi recalled that the 2016 OIC Summit in Jakarta generated a Jakarta Declaration of which one of the point was to promote OIC member states in UN Security Council to voice the struggle for Palestine Independence.

She asked the representatives of the OIC member states to deliver those messages to their capital cities.

She has also received information showing that Israel has removed the metal detectors from the entrance of Al-Aqsa.

However, she has asked the Indonesian ambassador in Amman, Jordan, to follow the development and look for information on barriers of different forms that might restrict Muslims of Palestine to Al-Aqsa Mosque.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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