Amman, Sep. 30 (Petra) –Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, Dr. Mohammad Khalaileh, warned against the "unprecedented" escalation witnessed in occupied Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, coinciding with Jewish holidays.

He added that current events represent a "systematic" attempt to impose a dangerous new reality within the mosque.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Khalaileh said violations have "intensified" through successive mass incursions led by senior rabbis and Israeli officials under official political and religious cover, aimed to Judaize the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

Citing reports and field data from the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf Department, he pointed to imposition of a "tight" siege on the mosque, restrictions on the entry and access of worshippers and stationed defenders and worshippers, and facilitation of incursions by hundreds of settlers, rabbis, and extremists.

Khalaileh also referred to performance of Talmudic rituals and rites inside the compound under the direct protection of the Israeli occupation police.

Khalaileh warned against exploiting Jewish holidays as a cover for schemes to impose temporal and spatial division, and the continued targeting of Jerusalem Awqaf Department staff and guards through expulsion orders and physical assaults.

He affirmed that these actions constitute a flagrant violation of Jerusalem's historical and legal status quo.

He reiterated Jordan’s "steadfast" stance in confronting these violations and warning against their catastrophic consequences for the entire region.

On its stance, he voiced the Kingdom's continued commitment to upholding the historical and religious responsibilities of the Hashemite Custodianship to protect the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in its entirety, spanning 144 dunams, and defense of its purely Islamic identity.

//Petra// AG