fire broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem just as flames ravaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. News of the incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, was largely overshadowed by a much larger blaze engulfing the Notre Dame Cathedral at the same time.
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, the third holiest site in Islam
طواقم الإطفاء تخمد حريقاً اندلع على سطح المصلى المرواني في المسجد الأقصى. pic.twitter.com/eMb59JGrsa
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 15, 2019
No interior damage nor casualties were reported from the fire, which was overshadowed by the Notre Dame inferno in Paris that destroyed much of the Gothic cathedral’s roof before firefighters brought the flames under control, saving the remaining two towers and parts of the interior of the iconic French landmark.
While the cause of the incident has yet to be determined, Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director general of the Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, hinted that the fire could have been started by children who were seen playing in the area.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned against targeting the holy site. He called for preserving the compound’s “great religious and humanitarian value.”
