Jordan to Indonesia Discuss Israel's Actions Against Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem
JAKARTA - The foreign ministers of a number of Arab and Muslim countries held a meeting in Amman, Jordan on Wednesday, to discuss Israel's actions in Jerusalem which have an impact on Islamic and Christian sites there, especially the Al Aqsa Mosque.
In a post on the X social media of the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it said the meeting held by Amman aims "to formulate a common position in the face of Israel's increasing and illegal actions targeting the identity of Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites there."
In his opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan Ayman Safadi said Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites there were under threat along with Israel's steps to strengthen its illegal occupation of East Jerusalem.
"They are building settlements, annexing land, confiscating property, restricting the movement of Palestinians in Jerusalem, and separating the city from other occupied Palestinian territories, as implementation of a plan that targets the identity, history, present, and future of the city," Foreign Minister Safadi said in a tweet from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry on X, as quoted (5/8).
"Israel violates the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites and restricts freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians," he said.
Furthermore, he said, Israel's provocative policy targeting the Al Aqsa Mosque or Haram Al-Sharif "with a systematic attack that has never happened, increasing in quantity and quality."
He said it was an attempt "to undermine its Islamic identity and change the historical status quo."
"The Israeli government is implementing its illegal actions in Jerusalem and its holy sites as part of a broader policy to strengthen the occupation of the West Bank and weaken the two-state solution, which is the only viable path to a just peace," he explained.
"This policy is pushing the West Bank towards an explosion, violating the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and obstructing the implementation of the US president's plan to stabilize the Gaza Strip," Foreign Minister Safadi warned.
He emphasized that the Arab-Israeli conflict, whose root cause is Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, has never been a religious conflict.
"However, by violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and attempting to undermine its identity, the Israeli government is pushing the region towards religious conflict, which triggers calls for a global jihad to protect one of the three holiest sites for nearly two billion Muslims," he said.
He said Wednesday's meeting aimed to "alarm and call on the international community to act decisively and clearly to stop Israel's violations in Jerusalem and its holy places."
"We call on the international community to act before it is too late, so that Jerusalem can be the city of harmony and the gateway to peace as it should be, not an arena of oppression, conquest, and injustice as has been the case during the occupation," said Foreign Minister Safadi.
Quoted from The National, this meeting strengthens Amman's position as the guardian of Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam.
Present at this meeting were the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Iraq Dr. Fuad Hussein, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community of Algeria Ahmed Attaf, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptians Abroad Dr. Badr Abdel-Aty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Tunisia Mohamed Ali Nafti, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia Abdisalam Abdi Ali, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Palestine Farsin Aghabekian, the Minister of Justice of Morocco Abdelatif Ouahbi, the Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Fahmy, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Arrmanatah Nasir, and Armanatha Sy Nasir, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Ambassador Dr. Ahmad Faisal Mohamed.
The countries present are part of a committee formed by the Arab League in 2017 to oppose Israel's illegal steps, especially at the Al Aqsa Mosque,
The Al Aqsa Mosque complex is managed by an Islamic waqf body funded and controlled by Jordan in a security arrangement with Israel after the two sides signed a peace agreement in 1994.
Based on the arrangement, Jews are not allowed to pray inside the complex area, but can pray at the Wailing Wall located nearby.
The land where Al-Aqsa stands is considered holy by Muslims, Jews, and Christians, and is a focal point of tension between Israel and Palestine.
Jordan's claim to the right to administer Al-Aqsa is based on the guardianship rights granted in the 1920s by Palestinian religious leaders to Sharif Hussein bin Ali - the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great