The third holiest site in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, caught fire at around the same time as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined
Palestine's official news agency reported that the fire broke out in the guard's room outside the roof of the Marwani Prayer Hall. It was quickly put out by the Waqf with no injuries or interior damage reported.
Director General of the Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, told Jordan's Al-Mamlaka that the fire may have been caused by children.
The site of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a bone of contention between the Israel and Palestine revered by both the Muslim and Jews communities and has also aggravated the ongoing Israel-Arab conflict.
Earlier, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas had expressed solidarity with France over the fire at the historic Notre Dame Cathedral.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque was under the occupation of Jordan till 1948. However, post the creation of Israel, it annexed a majority part of the Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was frowned upon by the international community.
In a surprising move, US President Donald Trump had recognised the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017. It had upset Palestine and other Muslim countries and was termed as a violation of human rights.
