Jordan steps up diplomatic drive to confront Israeli violations at Al Aqsa

AMMAN — Next Thursday, Jordan will host an emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in the occupied city of Jerusalem and discuss the dangerous Israeli escalation at Al Aqsa Mosque.

Chaired by Jordan, the committee includes Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt and Morocco, according to a foreign ministry statement cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The UAE will also partake in the meeting as the Arab member of the UN Security Council.

It was agreed to hold the emergency meeting in Amman on Thursday, after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi consulted his counterparts, members of the committee, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Secretary General of the Arab League.

In addition, Safadi is holding talks aimed at developing an effective and pressing international stance to stop the illegal Israeli measures at Al Aqsa Mosque, as he met with ambassadors of the EU and European countries accredited to the Kingdom.

Safadi, during a meeting with ambassadors, warned of the danger of the situation in occupied Jerusalem, stressing the need to launch immediate international action to pressure Israel to stop the illegal measures and violations against Al Asa Mosque and respect the existing historical and legal status quo. 

Safadi emphasised Israel’s need to respect the historical and legal status quo of Al Aqsa Mosque, reiterating that Al Haram Al Sharif, with its total area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship for Muslims alone and that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department has the “exclusive authority” to supervise the holy site’s affairs and manage entries. 

He said that within the existing historical and legal status quo, the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department is the only entity that organises non-Muslim visits to Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, pointing out that such visits continued until the year 2000, after which Israel violated it. 

Maintaining a comprehensive calm requires respect for the historical and legal status quo in the holy sites and the right of worshippers to practise their religious rites during Ramadan, he stressed, urging the cessation of all illegal measures and restrictions on the Palestinians.

Tensions shall continue escalating if peace is not achieved on the basis of a two-state solution in accordance with international law and UN resolutions, Safadi said.

The current situation in which the prospects for progress towards a peaceful solution are absent and economic challenges for the Palestinians are exacerbated cannot continue, he said.

Safadi expressed appreciation of the EU’s stance supporting efforts to achieve peace, in accordance with the two-state solution, respecting the historical status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites.

The Jordanian foreign minister underlined the importance of their role in efforts to stop measures and provocations that cause violence, maintain a comprehensive calm and create prospects for peace.

Safadi had directed the Kingdom's ambassadors to communicate with the capitals in which they represent the Kingdom in order to explain the gravity of the situation in Jerusalem.

Ambassadors were also tasked with appealing to the international community to bear its responsibilities, stop the escalation, respect international law and protect the chances of achieving just and comprehensive peace.

In a meeting with Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Hussein Ibrahim Taha, Safadi discussed ways to confront the Israeli escalation in the holy sites and efforts to protect them as well as restore calm. 

Also on Monday, Safadi, during a Lower House session, stressed the Kingdom’s continuous efforts to combat all illegal Israeli actions that attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem’s holy shrines and tamper with the Isamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem. 

He also referred to the Foreign Ministry’s summoning of the Israeli charge d’affaires to deliver the Kingdom’s clear and firm position on condemning all Israeli measures and the demand for an immediate halt to all violations at Al Aqsa Mosque.