Cairo, September 28 (Petra) Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohamed Yamahi on Monday condemned the "dangerous" and ongoing Israeli escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly at the Al Aqsa Mosque and in the occupied West Bank.

Yamahi warned of the consequences of what he described as efforts by the Israeli occupation authorities to impose new realities aimed at altering the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites.

He denounced reported attempts to introduce Jewish prayer books and religious rituals into the Al Aqsa Mosque, as well as increased restrictions and closures imposed on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

He said such measures constituted a systematic escalation and a violation of the sanctity of holy sites and the rights of the Palestinian people, adding that they sought to impose a new reality by force.

Yamahi condemned statements attributed to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for military action in the occupied West Bank on a scale similar to the fighting in the Gaza Strip and for dismantling the Palestinian Authority.

He said the statements amounted to an explicit call to expand the scope of military action and destruction, warning that they could further escalate tensions in the occupied West Bank and undermine its stability.

//Petra// AK