Joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar

The Foreign Ministers of the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Turkey, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli escalation in the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, especially the continued massive incursions by settlers led by extremist Israeli ministers into the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, under the protection of Israeli police forces, and raising the Israeli flag inside. Its squares, and the Israeli police set up two tents, and other provocative actions. They affirm that these escalatory and unacceptable actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo in the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Ministers also denounce and condemn in the strongest terms the illegal and extremist acts of incitement, calls to mobilize raids, and acts of violence committed by ministers and extremist Israeli groups. The Ministers warn that these provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism, and hamper efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.

The ministers said that the restrictions on access to the Old City of Jerusalem and its places of worship, along with the discriminatory and arbitrary restrictions on access to other places of worship in the Old City, constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, and illegal attempts to change the historical and legal status quo.

The ministers affirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy places.

The Foreign Ministers also condemn the continued violations and systematic measures implemented by Israel, the occupying power, aimed at changing the historical, legal and demographic character of occupied East Jerusalem, and undermining the sanctity and status of its Islamic and Christian holy places. They reaffirm their categorical rejection of any attempts to change the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy places, and stress the necessity of preserving it, while emphasizing the special role of the historical Hashemite custodianship in this regard. The ministers reiterate that the entire area of ​​the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Aqsa Mosque, amounting to 144 dunums, is a pure place of worship for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Endowments Administration and the affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments, Islamic Affairs and Holy Mosques, is the legal body with exclusive jurisdiction to manage all the affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to regulate entry to it.

The ministers called on Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on access to the Old City of Jerusalem, and to refrain from obstructing Muslim worshipers’ access to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

They also called on the international community to take a firm stance obligating Israel to stop its ongoing violations and illegal practices against the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, and its violations of the sanctity of these holy places.