11^th May 2021

As Muslims worldwide devote themselves to worship, increased charity and service to humanity during this holy month of Ramadan, we are shocked to witness the indiscriminate brutality inflicted on Palestinian civilians and the Sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In addition to the armed attacks on worshippers within the mosque by armed police, we find the forcible evictions of families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, the burning of fields and the prevention and disruption of iftar gatherings in and around the Al-Aqsa reprehensible and in flagrant contravention of all accepted moral, civil, legal or ethical codes and norms.

It is unconscionable that any place of worship be violated or any congregation, regardless of affiliation, be terrorised. The last days of Ramadan preceding Eid are ones of tranquility, spent in supplication and in anticipation of a joyous celebration.

Much of the narrative, such as “clashes between”, is not only misleading but a manifest injustice; it fails to capture the extent of the appalling acts on the ground, which are nothing short of terrorist attacks by police and illegal settlers on innocent Palestinian civilians.

We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine and urge our UK government, democratic civic institutions and all conscientious citizens to press for:

1) An immediately end to attacks on civilians and religious sites.

2) The implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

3) An arms embargo on the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to prevent further casualties.

4) Local and national representatives to take action and to put pressure on Israel to cease its malign activity and respect international law.

Joint Statement from Birmingham Mosques.