AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry has condemned the continued incursions by Israeli extremists into Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

 

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry denounced the storming of Al Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest site, by a far-right Israeli minister and his “inflammatory calls to continue such incursions and provocative practices.”

 

The ministry slammed the actions as a “flagrant violation of international law and an unacceptable escalation that must stop immediately.”

 

The ministry’s Spokesperson Fuad Majali reiterated Jordan’s “absolute rejection and strong condemnation” of the continued incursions and the Israeli minister’s entry into the holy site.

 

The spokesperson said the storming acts constituted a “serious” violation of the historic and legal status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif.

 

Israeli minister of Negev and Galilee affairs Yitzhak Wasserlauf stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque Compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday. Wasserlauf is a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

 

Majali stressed that the actions represent a “rejected” attempt to impose temporal and spatial division at the holy site and constitute a desecration of its sanctity, adding that “Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites”.

 

Majali warned against the consequences of “inflammatory” calls encouraging further incursions and continued violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, urging the international community to adopt a “firm” stance compelling Israel, as the occupying power, to halt its “illegal and provocative” practices.

 

He said these violations are part of the “extremist” Israeli government’s policy aimed at continuing “dangerous escalation and illegal unilateral” measures in the occupied West Bank.

 

The spokesperson also reaffirmed that the entire 144-dunam compound of Al Aqsa Mosque is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims.

 

He stressed that the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is the legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction over managing the affairs of Al Aqsa Mosque / Al Haram Al Sharif and regulating entry to it.