Jordan decries far-right Israeli minister’s remarks on Al Aqsa Mosque

Amman: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Monday condemned far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir's remarks calling for building a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharif compound in occupied Jerusalem. Official spokesman of the ministry Sufian Al-Qudah said the statement is "a violation of international law and an unacceptable provocation that requires a clear-cut international position condemning it." He stressed the Kingdom's categorical rejection and condemnation of the statement by the extremist Israeli minister, who "fuels extremism and endeavors to change the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites through imposing new facts and practices driven by a bigoted exclusionary narrative." "The holy Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, with its entire area of ??144 dunums, is a place of worship solely for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Waqf (endowments) of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, which administers the complex, is the legal entity with the exclusive jurisdiction to manage its affairs and control entry to it," the spokesman reiterated. The continued violations against the Al-Haram Al-Sharif and incitement by the Israeli minister are aimed to impose a temporal and spatial division of the compound, he said, stressing that Jordan will take all necessary measures to stop attacks on the holy sites. The Kingdom, Al-Qudah added, will take legal action at international courts against attacks on the holy sites, which are a clear violation of international law and a dangerous escalation that Jordan will confront by all possible means. Source: Jordan News Agency