Overview
- Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE issued a joint condemnation Thursday of reported settler and ministerial incursions and Israeli flag-raising inside the Al-Aqsa compound.
- The statement says the entire 144-dunum Al-Aqsa/Al-Haram Al-Sharif area is a Muslim place of worship and names Jordan’s Waqf, the Islamic endowments authority, as the sole body that manages the site and controls entry.
- The ministers call the actions a violation of international and humanitarian law, and they denounce Israel’s approval of more than 30 new settlements and rising settler attacks, citing UN Security Council resolutions and the 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion.
- They reject Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory and warn these steps erode prospects for a two-state solution, urging the international community to pressure Israel to halt escalation and support a credible political process.
- Reports a day earlier described groups of settlers entering the compound under police protection, underscoring why the status quo—Muslim prayer under Jordanian custodianship with restricted non-Muslim visits—remains a flashpoint for regional diplomacy.