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