RIYADH — The Board of Senior Ulema on Monday lambasted the Israeli occupation forces for desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday. “Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque have special significance in the hearts of all Muslims around the world,” and its desecration by the brutish Israeli forces should be condemned in the strongest possible terms, the board said in a statement. Severely criticizing the closure of the mosque gates and assault on Muslim worshipers, the board said the incident is in “flagrant violation of the most basic human rights advocated by the international community.” Further, the board said the international community ought to look at terrorism in its right perspective and not adopt double standards in defining the menace. “What is being carried out by the occupation forces in Palestine — confiscating the rights of the Palestinian people, repeated violation of the sanctity of Islamic holy sites and practicing apartheid — should be construed as state-sponsored terrorism,” it said. Meanwhile, a Palestinian wanted on suspicion of planning an attack fell to his death from a rooftop on Monday as he fled from police in the occupied West Bank, Israeli police said, an account disputed by a witness. Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians in the West Bank in the past week in raids that they say foil attacks. A police spokeswoman said the man, identified by Qalandiya residents as 19-year-old Mohammed Abu Latifa, ignored paramilitary police officers' orders to halt and climbed onto a rooftop where police shot him in the lower body to stop him. “Nonetheless, the wanted man continued fleeing, and when he tried to move to another roof, he tripped and fell, and was fatally injured as a result,” she said. However, Shahdi Awad, who lives in a neighboring building and who said he saw the incident, told Reuters Abu Latifa was shot dead and had not fallen off the roof. “He was shot repeatedly on the rooftop, and that's where he stayed until the soldiers came and took down the body,” he said. Palestinians who saw Abu Latifa said he had gunshot wounds in his legs but no clear sign of damage elsewhere. Palestinian doctors said his family's had refused permission for an autopsy. The police spokeswoman, Luba Samri, said, “He (Awad) can say whatever he wants. Our account is what happened.” She said that Abu Latifa, and a second man arrested without incident in Qalandiya, were “suspected of planning a terrorist attack within Israel”. Qalandiya residents said Abu Latifa was a member of the Fatah political party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas but that they had no knowledge of him having any affiliation with armed factions within the party. Abu Latifa was buried in Qalandia later in the evening. — Agencies
