Arab and Muslim countries condemn Israeli storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries have strongly condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem by far-right groups and thousands of Israeli settlers.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates denounced the “mass incursions by settlers led by extremist Israeli ministers into the Noble Sanctuary” of Al-Aqsa.

The diplomats underscored that the storming of Islam’s third-holiest site took place under the protection of Israeli police forces.

“These provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism, and obstruct efforts to advance a just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-State solution,” the statement said, calling the escalation “an unlawful attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo” of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

“Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” it said.

More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, one of the largest incursions this year, to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection.

Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several people.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1980. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal.

Under the status quo, the Jerusalem Waqf, a Jordanian-appointed body, manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Thursday marked the Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, that commemorates the destruction, twice, of an ancient Jewish temple, according to religious tradition, believed to have stood at the site known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The joint statement on Thursday denounced “the illegal and extremist acts represented by incitement and calls to mobilise incursions, as well as acts of violence committed by Israeli ministers and extremist groups”.

The statement called on Israel, “as the occupying power, to immediately lift the restrictions” imposed on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It also called on the international community “to take a firm stance obligating Israel to cease its ongoing violations and illegal practices against the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and its violations of the sanctity of these holy sites”.

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