Fire breaks out at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Palestinian president condemned the fire and warned anyone against targeting the holy site.

JERUSALEM (Dunya News) – A fire on late Monday erupted at Islam’s third-holiest site Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and endangered a part of the worship place that is over 2,000 years old. “The fire broke out in the guard’s room outside the roof of the Marwani Prayer Room,” Wafa news agency said, adding, “Fire brigade of the Islamic Waqf handled the matter successfully.” The cause of the blaze has yet to be ascertained however, director general of the Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib said that the fire could have been erupted due to the children who were playing there. No interior damage nor casualties were reported from the fire., said the authorities. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the fire and warned anyone against targeting the holy site, stressing the need to preserve the compound’s “great religious and humanitarian value.”