Amman, February 16 (Petra) – Jordan condemned the continued provocative incursions by Israeli officials into Al Aqsa Mosque, most recently the storming of the holy site by a member of the Israeli Knesset.

In a statement issued Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the action is a flagrant violation of international law, a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable provocation that must immediately cease.

Ministry spokesperson Fouad Majali said the Kingdom rejects and condemns Israeli extremist officials' "repeated and unacceptable" incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque.

He said the Incursions are a blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo at the holy site, as well as an unacceptable attempt to impose temporal and spatial division and a desecration of its sanctity.

Majali said that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites. He warned of the consequences of continued provocative and unlawful violations targeting religious sanctities in the city.

He called on the international community to adopt a clear and firm position compelling Israel to halt its ongoing violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

He said that the Israeli violations form part of a broader policy by the extremist Israeli government aimed at escalating dangerous and illegal unilateral measures in the occupied West Bank.

Majali said that the entire 144-dunum area of Al Aqsa Mosque is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims, adding 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 responsible for managing the site and regulating entry to it.

//Petra// AK