Closed for 17 Days, the Status Quo of the Al Aqsa Mosque is Starting to Shake Israel?

The Dome of the Rock or the Dome of Shakhrah in the Al Aqha Mosque complex in Jerusalem, Palestine. (Pexels-BECCA SIEGEL)

JAKARTA - Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned against any changes to the status quo or the law and history of holy sites in Jerusalem as the Al Aqsa Mosque was closed for 17 consecutive days until Monday, March 16 by the Israeli occupation authorities.

Abdelatty made his statement in a telephone conversation with Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh. The two discussed the escalating tensions throughout the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the local media Ahram Online, Abdelatty also reiterated Egypt's condemnation of the closure of the Al Aqsa Mosque to worshippers under the pretext of security due to the US-Israeli war against Iran.

During the telephone conversation on Sunday local time, Abdelatty juge reiterated Egypt's support for Palestinian rights and expressed strong opposition to Israel's recent measures to annex parts of the West Bank and expand Israeli settlements.

He described Israel's actions as a violation of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2334. The resolution adopted in 2016 states that Israeli settlements are a flagrant violation of international law.

The Israeli occupation authorities closed the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, shortly after the US-Israeli joint attack on Iran began on February 28.

As a result of the closure, thousands of Palestinians were barred from attending prayers, including two consecutive Friday prayers and Tarawih prayers at night during Ramadan 2026.