Amman, July 23 (Petra) -- The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Thursday condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, several Knesset members, and groups of extremist settlers under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.
The ministry said the this incursion included assaults against worshippers, provocative acts by extremists and police, the raising of Israeli flags, and inciting statements by extremist groups. It described the actions as a serious violation of the historical and legal status of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, a breach of the sanctity of the mosque, and an unacceptable escalation.
Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Al-Majali said Jordan firmly rejects and strongly condemns the continued incursions by Israeli officials, Knesset members, and extremist settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the role of Israeli police in facilitating these actions.
He said these practices represent a clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and an infringement on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.
He described the actions as unacceptable attempts to impose new realities at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif through efforts to alter its existing arrangements in terms of time and space.
Al-Majali warned of the consequences of continued violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites and the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy places, stressing that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites.
He called on the international community to take a firm stance to ensure that Israel, as the occupying power, stops its ongoing violations of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and halts provocative actions by Israeli officials and extremist groups, which he said represent a continuation of the Israeli government’s policy of dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank.
Al-Majali reaffirmed that Al-Aqsa Mosque, covering its full area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims. He stressed that the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, under Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, is the legally authorized body responsible for the administration of all affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the regulation of entry to the site.
//Petra//WH
