Jordan condemned the storming of hundreds of settlers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and warned of the worsening of the situation in light of allowing what it called a "provocative march" of settlers in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, while the Palestinian presidency called on the international community to hold Israel accountable.
More than a thousand settlers - including the extremist member of the Knesset Itamar Ben Gvir - stormed this morning the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, hours before the so-called "flags march";
In memory of what they consider the unification of the two parts of occupied Jerusalem.
The spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Haitham Abu Al-Ful, said that the settlers, led by MK Itamar Ben Gvir, said that the extremists’ incursions and their provocative actions, which are being protected by the Israeli police, are a violation of the historical and legal status quo, and international law.
Abu al-Ful stressed that the Holy Mosque in its entirety (144 dunums) is a place of worship purely for Muslims, and that the Department of Endowments for Jerusalem and the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jordan is the legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction to manage the affairs of the campus and regulate entry to it.
The official spokesman for the ministry called on Israel - as the occupying power - to stop all practices and violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to respect its sanctity, stressing the need to stop all measures aimed at changing the existing historical and legal situation, and to respect the authority of the Jerusalem Endowment Administration and the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In front of one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque (French)
Israel Accountability
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the settlers' incursions, led by rabbis and symbols of Jewish religious schools, and MK Itamar Ben Gvir to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It also condemned in a statement that the intruders performed Talmudic prayers while walking in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa in front of the Israeli forces protecting them, without moving a finger.
The Foreign Ministry held the Israeli government responsible for these incursions, their results, and their repercussions on the region, and called on the international community and the US administration to shoulder their responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its sanctities.
For its part, the Palestinian presidency said that Israel "disregards the international community and we cannot accept the desecration of sanctities."
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said - in an interview with Voice of Palestine radio today - that all occupation measures in occupied Jerusalem contradict Security Council resolutions that consider Jerusalem within the occupied territories in 1967.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that the road to security and peace in the region passes through meeting the rights of the Palestinian people, and that Islamic and Christian holy sites are a red line, whose desecration can never be accepted.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said that the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist settlers is a dangerous transgression that the Israeli occupation will pay the price for, no matter the sacrifices.
The Front affirmed its readiness to defend the holy sites and the Palestinian people by all means and methods.
She commended the valor of the crowds in the streets of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, who stand up to the settlers' provocations, and called for an escalation of the comprehensive confrontation with the occupation by exploding Palestinian and Arab anger in the face of the occupation.