AMMAN — Jordan and 13 Arab and Islamic countries on Wednesday condemned Israel's escalating violations in occupied Jerusalem, rejecting measures aimed at altering the occupied city's Arab, Islamic and Christian identity and calling for immediate international action to halt them.

 

In a joint statement issued after the Ministerial Meeting in Support of Jerusalem and Its Holy Sites in Amman, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia, along with the secretary-general of the Arab League, said that Israeli measures in occupied Jerusalem are "null and void, without legal effect, and a flagrant violation of international law and Israel's obligations as the occupying power.”

 

The ministers said that the meeting addressed the "dangerous and unprecedented Israeli escalation" in Jerusalem and explored mechanisms for coordinated action to confront measures they warned are driving the region towards further conflict.

 

The statement reaffirmed that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and that Israel has no sovereignty over the city. It reiterated that East Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine and stressed that establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only path to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.

 

The ministers also reaffirmed their support for the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

 

They also condemned Israeli violations at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, including attempts to alter the site's historic and legal status quo and impose temporal and spatial division. The statement also denounced escalating incursions by extremist settlers, Israeli ministers and officials under the protection of Israeli occupation authorities.

 

The ministers also condemned restrictions on worshippers' access to the mosque, assaults against them, interference with the work of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, and continued excavations beneath and around the holy site.

 

The statement reaffirmed that Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, encompassing its entire 144-dunum area, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims. It also stressed that the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with Jordan's Ministry of Awqaf, is the sole legal authority responsible for administering the site.

 

The ministers also condemned Israeli violations targeting Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, including restrictions on access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, interference in church affairs, restrictions on church institutions and properties, and attacks on clergy, worshippers and religious symbols.

 

The statement reiterated support for the historic Hashemite Custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, praising its role in protecting the sites, preserving their Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, and maintaining the historic and legal status quo.

 

The ministers also voiced support for strengthening the resilience of Jerusalemites through development assistance and efforts to reinforce Palestinian institutions in the city.

 

Warning of broader consequences, the statement said that attacks against Islamic holy sites in occupied Jerusalem constitute "a blatant provocation to the sentiments of around two billion Muslims worldwide" and risk fueling a wider religious conflict that could threaten regional and international peace and security.

 

The ministers called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to act immediately to halt Israel's illegal measures in Jerusalem and throughout the occupied West Bank, as well as alleged violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

 

The statement said that Israeli is pursuing a systematic policy to entrench the occupation through settlement expansion, land annexation, economic restrictions on Palestinians, targeting Palestinian national institutions, escalating settler violence and actions against UNRWA.

 

It also reaffirmed rejection of any unilateral decision affecting the legal status of occupied Jerusalem, including the establishment or relocation of diplomatic missions to the city, saying such moves violate international law and relevant UN resolutions.