AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the continued storming of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif by extremist Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

 

In a statement, Ministry Spokesperson Fouad Majali said that the incursions, restrictions imposed on Muslim worshippers and provocative practices within the mosque compound constitute a “flagrant violation of the historical and legal status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif” and a provocation and desecration of the sanctity of Islam’s third-holiest site.

 

Majali voiced the Kingdom’s “absolute rejection and strong condemnation” of the ongoing settler incursions and the restrictions imposed on worshippers, stressing that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

 

He warned of the consequences of continued violations and provocative practices, particularly amid calls by extremist groups to intensify incursions.

 

Majali called on the international community to take a firm stance and oblige Israel, as the occupying power, to halt its ongoing violations of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and end measures restricting worshippers’ access to Al Aqsa Mosque.

 

He reiterated that the entire 144-dunum area of Al Aqsa Mosque is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims, stressing that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department, affiliated with the Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, has exclusive jurisdiction over the management of the compound and the regulation of entry to it.