TEHRAN -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said here on Wednesday that it is not acceptable to remain silent on the violation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by the Zionist regime.

Israel pressed on with the demolition of an outside section of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday, ignoring protests from Muslim leaders around the world.

“The issue of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a religious concern shared by all Muslims,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated in a meeting with Islamic Jihad of Palestine Secretary General Ramadan Abdullah Shallah. The Leader urged all Muslims to seriously respond to the Zionist regime’s disrespectful action, saying that the Islamic world’s reaction “should make the Zionist regime regret its offensive act.”

Al-Aqsa is the third holiest mosque in the Islamic world and the Israeli occupation forces are demolishing the bridge that connects the mosque and the Moroccan Gate, which is the entrance to the Old City used by Muslim worshipers to reach the mosque.

Warning about a conspiracy to turn the Palestinian-Zionist battle into a Palestinian-Palestinian battle, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed regret over the recent clashes between rival Palestinian factions.

All Palestinian groups and Islamic countries should make every effort to end the violence between Palestinians and neutralize the enemy’s plots.

The Leader said the “flame of war” between Palestinians should be extinguished. Ayatollah Khamenei also called on Muslims to maintain unity between Shias and Sunnis, and stated, “Hezbollah’s victory against the Zionist regime, the achievements of the Hamas movement in Palestine, and the developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran in different areas are the realization of God’s promises.”

Shallah said that Islamic Jihad is making the utmost efforts to end the communal strife in Palestine and voiced hope that the opposing sides could reach an agreement and thus foil the enemies’ divisive plot.

He insisted that Muslims would not turn a blind eye to Israel’s desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and would give an appropriate response.