FM condemns intensified incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the intensified incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, which occurred under the strict protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

Such actions constitute a violation of the historical and legal status quo, and a desecration of holy places, according to a Ministry statement.

Ministry spokesperson Sinan Al Majali emphasised that the entire 144-dunam Al Aqsa Mosque 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 manage its entries. 

The Jersualem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department is capable of ensuring security at the mosque if Israel stops attacks, lifts the restrictions imposed on the mosque’s staff and respects the historical and legal status quo at the holy site and the right of worshippers to pray.

The official spokesperson confirmed that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the escalation in Jerusalem and all occupied Palestinian territories, as well as for the deterioration that will worsen if the occupation does not stop its incursions into Al Aqsa and its crackdown on worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan. 

The official spokesperson reiterated the necessity of Israel, as an occupying power, to comply with its obligations under international law, notably international humanitarian law, regarding occupied Jerusalem and its holy shrines, especially Al Aqsa Mosque. Majali also urged the occupation to refrain from any measures that violate the sanctity of the holy sites and to cease all attempts to change the historical and legal status quo or infringe on the authority of the administration of the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department.