Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s incursion into Al Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif led by the Israeli national security minister. 

The ministry also warned against the serious consequences of allowing extremists’ to continue their provocative practices and storm Al Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli forces, a ministry statement said.

Ministry Spokesman Sinan Majali stressed that the Israeli minister's violation at Al Aqsa Mosque tampers with the mosque’s sanctity, triggers further extremism through provocation and represents a flagrant breach of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites. 

In this regard, Majali underlined that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem, adding that Israel's continued unilateral actions and violations of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its sanctities threaten to fuel more violence.

The spokesperson also reiterated that Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, with its total area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship for Muslims alone and that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department has the exclusive authority to supervise the holy site’s affairs and entries.

He also underscored Palestine’s right to sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and stressed that Israel, as the occupying force, has no right to sovereignty over Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.