Amman, Oct. 8 (Petra) – The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Wednesday strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif by the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with repeated incursions and provocative actions by extremist groups under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

The Ministry described the act as a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, an unacceptable provocation, and a condemned escalation. It stressed that Israel holds no sovereignty over over occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Al-Majali stressed the Kingdom’s firm rejection and strong condemnation of the ongoing, unacceptable intrusions led by the extremist minister and facilitated by Israeli police.

He affirmed that such actions constitute a clear breach of the historical and legal status quo of the mosque and represent an attempt to divide it temporally and spatially, and a desecration of its sanctity.

Ambassador Al-Majali warned of the consequences of these ongoing provocative and illegal violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. He called on Israel, as the occupying power, to halt all provocative actions by the extremist minister, which reflect the policy of the current Israeli government aimed at further dangerous escalation and unilateral measures in the occupied West Bank, as well as violations of the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

The Ministry reaffirmed that the entire 144-dunum area of the al-Aqsa Mosque is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Endowments and al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, under the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, is the sole legal authority responsible for administering the site and regulating access.

//Petra// WH