Jordan warns against changing status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Sunday warned that Israeli's continuous steps to change the historical and legal status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and impose the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque represents “a dangerous escalation and a condemned breach of the international law”.

In a ministry statement, the ministry said that these “procedures contradict Israel's responsibilities as an occupying force”.

Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abul Foul stressed that Israel bears “full responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of this escalation that undermines all efforts to maintain the comprehensive ceasefire and avoid more violence that threatens peace and security”. 

He also stressed that the international community should bear its responsibility and undertake immediate actions to pressure Israel to stop these practices.

The ministry also deplored the recent breaches into Al Aqsa Mosque by Israel forces and forcibly taking worshippers from the mosque, as well as allowing extremists to raid the mosque under the protection of the Israeli forces.

The spokesperson also reiterated that Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, with its total area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship for Muslims alone and that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department has the “exclusive authority” to supervise the holy site’s affairs and manage entries.

Abul Foul rejected the Israeli statements that Israeli forces have the right to arrange visits of non-Muslims to Al Haram Al Sharif, stressing that organising such visits is an exclusive right of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department as per the historical status quo. 

He also stressed that the ministry is continuing with its intensified regional and international contacts to stop these escalatory Israeli steps, warning against their repercussions “that undermine the comprehensive ceasefire and will only move towards more violence and tensions”.