PUTRAJAYA, Sept 21 — Malaysia strongly condemns the repeated incursions by the Zionist regime into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as an extreme provocation that violates the sanctity of al-Haram al-Sharif.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the first qibla and the third holiest site for Muslims, must be defended.

“History proves that barbaric incursions into al-Aqsa have always been the catalyst for a wave of awakening among the ummah.

“The Zionist regime cannot be allowed to normalise these extremist actions, which risk pushing the world into a more complex global conflict,” he said in a statement today.

In light of this, Zulkifli urged the international community to take immediate and firm action against the Zionist regime, rather than merely issuing rhetorical condemnations.

He also called on Muslims in the country to continue uniting in solidarity and performing the qunut nazilah prayer so that Allah SWT may preserve the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and liberate Palestinian land from the grip of tyranny.

The statement came after about 100 Israeli settlers reportedly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday under tight security by Israeli security forces, ahead of the Yom Kippur observance. — Bernama