JERUSALEM: A fire broke out in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third-holiest site in Islam on Monday, RT reported. According to a statement by the mosque’s Waqf Department, fire broke out in the guard room outside the al-Marwani Prayer room. While the blaze did not cause any significant damage to the mosque, it did endanger a part of the worship site that’s over 2,000 years old.
Footage posted on social media showed smoke rising from the top of the Marwani Prayer room, also known as Solomon’s Stables, as firefighters tried to extinguish the flames on top of the Temple Mount.
Moreover, the existence of the Qubbat-us Sahra within the compound makes it more special as it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad started his spiritual journey to the heavens (miraj) from that place. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned anyone against targeting the holy site, stressing the need to preserve the compound’s “great religious and humanitarian value.” Fire broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the same time as a raging inferno swept through the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
Since Israel occupied Jerusalem in 1967 the conflict has continued between Palestinians and Israelis, as the latter believe that the holy temple of Solomon is beneath the mosque.