Egypt and seven Arab and Islamic nations on 23 July condemned Israel’s latest escalation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, including large-scale settler incursions led by Israeli ministers and the display of the Israeli flag inside the compound, describing them as violations of international law and the site’s longstanding historical and legal status.
The statement came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led thousands of Israeli settlers into the mosque compound on Thursday. The eight countries, including Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, also condemned the raising of the Israeli flag inside the site, the installation of two police tents within the compound, and what they called a series of provocative actions that violate the site’s historical and legal status.
According to the joint statement, these actions breach international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and the longstanding arrangements governing Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. The ministers warned that repeated incursions, inflammatory rhetoric, and calls for further actions at Al-Aqsa risk increasing regional tensions, fueling extremism, and undermining efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
The statement stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites. It accused Israeli authorities of pursuing measures aimed at altering the city’s historical, legal, and demographic character.
The eight countries reaffirmed their rejection of any attempt to change the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites and reiterated their recognition of Jordan’s historical Hashemite custodianship over them. They also emphasized that the entire 144-dunam Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is an exclusively Muslim place of worship and that the Jerusalem Endowments and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, operating under Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, remains the sole authority responsible for administering the site and regulating entry.
The joint statement called on Israel to lift restrictions on access to Jerusalem’s Old City and to stop preventing Muslim worshippers from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque. It also urged the international community to take decisive action to halt what it described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
The statement follows growing regional concern over repeated settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which Palestinians and many Arab and Islamic countries have consistently described as provocative and destabilizing.
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