RABAT, Morocco

Morocco denounced Israeli violations in the occupied East Jerusalem as “unacceptable”, calling for dialogue and respect of rights.

“These violations [in Jerusalem] are an unacceptable act that will increase tension," the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The kingdom followed with great concern the recurrent violent events in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the storming of its courtyards and the intimidation of its peaceful worshipers during the month of Ramadan," the statement added.

The statement came as more than 290 Palestinians have been injured since Friday in clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Palestinians have been protesting in solidarity with the residents of Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood amid Israeli plans to evict Palestinians in the district from their homes and hand them over to settlement associations.

The ministry called for "prioritization of dialogue and respect for rights”, warning that "unilateral measures are not the solution.”

It also stressed "the need to preserve the special status of Jerusalem and protect the Islamic character of the city and the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara