Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates slammed on Monday Israeli settlers’ incursions of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem while being backed by heavily-armed Israeli soldiers, saying this is a “clear violation of international law and the existing historical and legal status quo.”
In a statement issued yesterday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abul Foul said the “increasing pace of attacks and the accompanying provocations at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and the surrounding Islamic cemeteries as well as the restriction of worshipers’ access to the mosque all represent a clear violation of international law and the existing historical and legal status quo.”
Abul Foul stressed that the ongoing attacks on holy sites represent a dangerous trend towards further escalation, the repercussions of which “will affect all”.
The spokesperson reiterated that “Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, with a total area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship for Muslims alone, and that the Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department, run by Jordan, has the exclusive authority to supervise the holy site’s affairs and entries.”
He also called on “Israel, as an occupying force, to immediately stop all violations at Al Aqsa Mosque, and respect its sanctity.”
The spokesperson also reiterated the importance of halting all procedures that threaten the historical and legal status quo and impose a temporal and spatial division, stressing the need to respect the authority of the Jerusalem Waqf and Aqsa Affairs Department.
