Amman, November 18 (Petra) – The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Monday condemned the continued incursions by Israeli extremists into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and their provocative practices, the latest of which was an attempt to desecrate the site by bringing offerings into one of its courtyards.
The Ministry stated that such actions are a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as a clear infringement upon the sanctity of the Mosque. It reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa compound.
Ministry spokesperson Fouad Majali said Jordan rejects and condemns the Israeli extremists' violations and ongoing incursions and provocative actions, which are carried out under the protection of Israeli police.
He noted that the violations practices represent a flagrant breach of the existing legal and historical status quo in occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites and form part of Israel's attempts, as the occupying power, to impose new realities aimed at dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially.
Majali urged the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities by compelling Israel to halt its violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, cease its dangerous escalation of illegal unilateral measures in the occupied West Bank and uphold the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, especially establishing and independent state on Palestinians' national soil.
He called for an end to the what he called crimes committed against the Palestinian people and for accountability for the perpetrators.
He reaffirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its full area of 144 dunams, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims and that the Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places is the sole legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction over all matters related to the Mosque, including regulating entry to the site.
//Petra// AK
