The Palestinian flag flies in the wind after a Rose Garden ceremony at the United Nations headquarters Wednesday. (AP/Craig Ruttle)

The Palestinian government has issued an official call for all the world'€™s Muslims to lend their support to the Palestinian struggle to defend East Jerusalem, a sacred territory illegally settled by Jewish extremists with the support of the Israeli government.

Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour said that all Muslim countries around the world bore a shared responsibility to defend East Jerusalem, home to one of the holiest religious sites in Islam, which now was at risk of being destroyed by fanatical Israeli Jews.

"It's the duty of the entire Islamic omma to support Palestine and defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif against Israel's efforts to destroy them," Mansour told thejakartapost.com on Friday.

According to Mansour, illegal Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem were now attempting to take control of the holy site, establishing a precedent by dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound into sections with time-limited visits, with a long-term plan of demolishing the mosque and building a synagogue in its place.

Israel and Palestine's territorial dispute has been going on for more than half a century. In spite of UN Security Council Resolution 478, adopted on Aug. 20, 1980, which reaffirmed that Israel'€™s annexation of East Jerusalem violated international law, Israel has continued to expand its illegal settlements in the area.

The beginning of October this year saw the dispute once more reach boiling point, with all political processes stuck in deadlock. Israeli authorities began to impose stricter regulations on Palestinians, including restrictions on the right of Palestinians to visit the compound to worship.

"This offends the dignity of Palestinians. No worshipper is allowed to enter the mosque without security protection," Mansour said.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in particular, he said, should look into legal action against Israel, adding that the OIC should be at the forefront of the struggle and come up with more creative courses of action, including raising funds for  Palestinian residents of Jerusalem affected and impoverished by Israeli oppression.

"The OIC should not just issue declarations of support. It should also formulate practical and concrete action on Israel," said Mansour.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir said that Indonesia would continue contributing actively to the peace process in Palestine, including through cooperation with the OIC.

According to Abdurrahman, Indonesia has various programs aimed at supporting Palestine, with more programs in the pipeline including training Palestinian police officers and civil servants.

"Islamic countries [sic] must keep fighting for Palestine's independence," Abdurrahman said. (dan)(+)

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