Jordan condemns Israeli far-right minister’s storming of Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN — Jordan condemned the entry of extremist Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir into the Al-Aqsa Mosque /Haram Al-Sharif on Wednesday, calling it a "dangerous escalation" and a "rejected provocation".

 

The incursion, carried out under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, is a "violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the historical and legal status quo," A Foreign Ministry statement said.

 

Sufian Qudah, the ministry’s spokesperson, reiterated the Kingdom's clear rejection and strong condemnation of the action by the far-right Israeli minister. He stressed that the move is a "blatant violation of international law" and a breach of Israel's obligations as an occupying force in occupied Jerusalem.

 

"This is an attempt to impose a temporal and spatial division of the holy site," Qudah said, stressing that "Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

 

The spokesperson said “the Israeli government is perpetuating an "illegal policy of escalation" through its persistent violations of religious sites in Jerusalem and the historical and legal status quo.

 

He also condemned the "dangerous escalation" in the West Bank, the  aggression against Gaza and the obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged Strip amid a dire humanitarian crisis.

 

Warning of the potential for such actions to ignite the whole region, he called on the international community to take a "firm international stance" to compel Israel, as an occupying force, to cease its ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy shrines in Jerusalem and to respect their sanctity.

 

He reiterated Jordan's firm stance that the entire 144-dunum Al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy site reserved exclusively for Muslim worship. He also stressed that the Jerusalem Waqf Administration, under the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, is the sole legal authority responsible for managing Al-Haram Al-Sharif and regulating access to it.