Jordan condemns storming of Al Aqsa by Israeli extremists

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced the violations perpetrated by Israeli extremists in the raids of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif under the protection of Israeli forces that allow them perform these provocative practices which violate the sanctity of the mosque and Islamic cemeteries.

Ministry Spokesperson Sinan Majali said that these ongoing and rejected provocative practices against Al Aqsa Mosque and Islamic cemeteries, which are considered Islamic endowments, as well as the continuing restrictions denying worshippers' access to Al Aqsa, represent a "clear and flagrant violation" of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem. 

Majali, warning against further escalation, stressed that these ongoing violations at holy sites, in conjunction with persistent Israeli raids on the occupied Palestinian territories, represent a dangerous trend that must be stopped immediately, according to a ministry statement.

He emphasised the fact that Al Aqsa Mosque, with its total area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, reiterating that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department is the sole authority able to supervise its affairs and manage entries to the site, according to international law and the legal and historical status quo.

Majali urged Israel, as an occupying force, to immediately halt its all provocative practices and violations against Al Aqsa Mosque and respect its sanctity, calling on Israel to immediately cease all attempts to change the existing historical and legal status quo and impose a temporal and spatial division of Al Aqsa.