UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2014. (Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "shocked and appalled" by images of Israeli security forces beating people at the Al-Aqsa mosque in the old city of Jerusalem, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres viewed images of the "violence and beating" within the holy site, and found it more distressing because it came "at a time of a calendar which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims that should be a time for peace and nonviolence."
"Places of worship should only be used for peaceful religious observances," Dujarric added.
Israeli police forcefully entered Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday to remove groups it said were barricaded inside, attacking worshippers and triggering an exchange of cross-border fire with Gaza.
The incident, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, came amid fears that tensions built up during a year of escalating violence could be unleashed at the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites on both Islam and Judaism.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "shocked and appalled" by images of Israeli security forces beating people at the Al-Aqsa mosque in the old city of Jerusalem, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres viewed images of the "violence and beating" within the holy site, and found it more distressing because it came...
