Jordan condemns storming of Al Aqsa by Israeli extremists

AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday condemned the actions of an extremist Israeli minister, members of the Knesset and other extremists who stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

A Foreign Ministry statement condemned these provocative violations of the sanctity of the mosque and denounced the Israeli government's authorisation of the so-called flag march in occupied Jerusalem.

This march, the ministry said, is accompanied by aggression against Palestinians, extremist racist practices and restrictions on worshippers' access to Al Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian movement in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

Sufian Qudah, the ministry's spokesperson, stressed that the continued incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and the ongoing extremist activities in occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites are a provocative and condemnable step.

He called these actions a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Israel has no sovereignty over the Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif or over occupied East Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy shrines, Qudah stressed.

He also called on Israel, as an occupying force, to stop all practices and violations against Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and to respect its sanctity.

Warning against the continuation of these violations, he stressed the need to respect the authority of the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department, the sole authority able to supervise its affairs and manage entries to the site.