Arab League Denounces Israeli Minister’s Incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque

Jerusalem: Arab foreign ministers strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by hard-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under heavy protection from Israeli forces. According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level issued a statement rejecting the incursion, highlighting that it coincided with the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland. The ministers also criticized large-scale incursions by colonist groups and repressive measures in occupied Jerusalem, such as the closure of the Old City and restrictions on worshippers' access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, alongside the flag march marking the occupation of Jerusalem. The statement condemned the provocative practices during the incursion, including the raising of Israeli flags inside the mosque compound and the performance of religious rituals there. These actions were described as a systematic offic ial policy aimed at imposing new realities by force in occupied East Jerusalem. The ministers expressed concern that these measures seek to undermine the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people and alter the status quo of Islamic and Christian holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They stressed the ongoing settlement project aimed at Judaizing the city, erasing its identity, and altering its legal, cultural, and demographic character, including attempts to impose spatial and temporal division at the holy compound. The statement reaffirmed the State of Palestine's full legal sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem, declaring Israel's sovereignty claims over the city and its holy sites as null and void under international law, United Nations resolutions, and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. Arab foreign ministers reiterated that the entire 144-dunum area of Al-Aqsa Mosque is exclusively for Muslim worship and that the Jerusalem I slamic Waqf, affiliated with Jordan's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is the sole legal authority responsible for administrating the site and regulating entry to it. They warned of the dangerous consequences of continued incursions, closures, and restrictions, suggesting they could fuel further escalation and threaten regional and international peace and security. The ministers held Israel, as the occupying power, fully responsible for the violations and urged it to prevent colonists from storming holy sites and attacking places of worship. They also demanded the removal of all restrictions on access to religious sites in Jerusalem. The statement called on the international community and relevant international organizations to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities by taking urgent action to protect the Palestinian people and holy sites in occupied Jerusalem and by adopting deterrent measures against colonists and their extremist leaders.