Jordan's King Warns Against Exploiting Regional Turmoil to Impose a New Reality in Occupied Jerusalem

King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan emphasized the necessity of adopting a unified Arab-Islamic stance and making joint efforts to halt unprecedented Israeli measures in Jerusalem, particularly at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary. During his meeting yesterday with members of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee tasked with mobilizing international action against Israel’s illegal policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem, the King stressed Jordan’s continued commitment to its historical and legal role in safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, in accordance with the Hashemite Custodianship.

The delegation included foreign ministers and representatives from Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco, as well as the Secretary-General of the Arab League, alongside foreign ministers and representatives from Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia.

In the presence of Crown Prince Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, the King warned against the danger of exploiting regional unrest to impose a new reality in the holy city, highlighting the risks of an expanding conflict due to continued Israeli escalation in the West Bank, attempts to annex land, and the expansion of settlements there.

In this context, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Arab member states of the Arab Ministerial Committee tasked with mobilizing international action against Israel’s illegal policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem, along with the Secretary-General of the Arab League and the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia, was held yesterday in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Attending the meeting, in addition to Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, were Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan; Egypt, Dr. Badr Abdelatty; Somalia, Abdul Salam Abdi Ali; Iraq, Dr. Fouad Hussein; Turkey, Hakan Fidan; and Pakistan, Muhammad Ishaq Dar.

The Arab-Islamic meeting discussed the situation in occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, aiming to formulate a common position in response to Israel’s escalatory and illegal measures targeting the identity and holy sites of Jerusalem.

The Jordanian Foreign Minister, who chaired the meeting, accused Israel of entrenching its illegal occupation of East Jerusalem, building settlements, annexing land, confiscating properties, restricting the lives of Jerusalem residents, and separating Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, in implementation of a plan aimed at altering the city’s identity, history, present, and future. He affirmed that Israel “violates the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites and besieges the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians.”

Safadi warned in his speech before the meeting that “Jerusalem is in escalating danger, and its Islamic and Christian holy sites are threatened as never before.” He continued, “Christian clergy are suffering the brutality of extremism, and churches are resisting attempts to strip them of their funds and lands through illegal laws enacted by Israel, in violation of international law, which decisively stipulates that an occupier has no sovereignty over occupied land.”

He noted that provocative Israeli policies target the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary through unprecedented, systematic attacks that are increasing in scale and nature, driven by arrogant arrogance attempting to undermine its Islamic identity and change the historical and legal status quo at the blessed mosque, which throughout its area is a place of pure worship for Muslims.

He considered that “the Israeli government is implementing its illegal measures in Jerusalem and its holy sites as part of a general policy to entrench the occupation in the West Bank and kill the two-state solution, which is the only alternative path to achieving just peace.” He also reviewed bilateral relations and regional developments with them.

For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmi called for urgent Arab action to confront Israeli occupation policies in occupied Jerusalem aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo in the holy city.

Fahmi said in his speech before the meeting that the risks and threats facing Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound are escalating amid the occupation’s efforts to change the historical, legal, and demographic status quo in the Old City and the Noble Sanctuary.

Jordan hosted yesterday the meeting of the foreign ministers of Arab states that are members of the Arab Ministerial Committee mandated to undertake international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem. The committee comprises Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Tunisian Republic, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Iraq, the State of Palestine, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. They met with the foreign ministers and representatives of Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia.

The meeting discussed the dangerous and unprecedented Israeli escalation in occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, and launched a joint initiative to confront all illegal Israeli measures that are pushing the region toward further conflict.

According to the final statement, the participants agreed on the following:

* Condemning Israeli policies and measures aimed at altering the Arab-Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem, as well as its legal and demographic status, and rejecting these measures as null and void, without legal effect, and as a blatant violation of international law and Israel’s obligations as the occupying power.

* Reaffirming that East Jerusalem is part of the occupied Palestinian territory over which Israel has no sovereignty, and is the capital of the State of Palestine, which must be realized as free, independent, and sovereign along the lines of June 4, 1967, to live in peace and security alongside Israel, based on the two-state solution and in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, as the only path to achieving just and comprehensive peace. They also reaffirmed the New York Declaration for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution.

* Condemning all Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary, and all attempts to change the historical and legal status quo there, including imposing temporal and spatial segregation, such as the escalating raids carried out by settlers and extremist Israeli ministers and officials, facilitated by the Israeli occupation authorities and under their protection, accompanied by provocative practices and inflammatory statements, and restrictions on worshippers’ access to the holy mosque and assaults against them.

* Reaffirming that the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary, covering its entire area of 144 dunams, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Waqf Department and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Places, is the sole legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction over managing all its affairs and regulating access to it.

* Condemning Israeli violations affecting Christian holy sites, which threaten the historic Christian presence in Jerusalem, including restrictions on access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the practice of religious rituals there, interference in church affairs, pressure on their institutions and properties, and attacks targeting clergy, worshippers, and religious symbols.

* Supporting the historic Hashemite custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and its role in protecting these sites, preserving their Arab-Islamic and Christian identity, and maintaining the existing historical and legal status quo.

* Supporting the steadfastness of Jerusalem residents and empowering them to face challenges and consolidate their presence in their city, by providing all forms of developmental support and enhancing the resilience of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem and protecting them.

* Expressing the importance of the role of the Jerusalem Committee and the Bayt al-Mal Al-Qudsi Fund, the executive arm of the committee, and supporting all efforts undertaken by the committee.

* Warning that Israeli assaults on Islamic holy sites in occupied Jerusalem constitute a blatant provocation of the sentiments of nearly two billion Muslims worldwide, and are driving toward the outbreak of a religious conflict whose repercussions will not be confined to the region, and will threaten regional and international peace and security.

* Calling on the international community and the Security Council to take immediate action to halt all illegal Israeli measures in occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites, which are escalating in the context of a systematic Israeli policy to entrench the occupation in Jerusalem and all occupied Palestinian territory, through settlement expansion, annexation of land, besieging the Palestinian economy, targeting Palestinian national institutions, the rise of settler violence, and attacks on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This occurs while Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip worsens, undermining the two-state solution and all prospects for achieving just and comprehensive peace, and fueling tension and conflict in the region.

* Rejecting any unilateral decision that violates the legal status of occupied Jerusalem, including opening or transferring diplomatic missions to the city, affirming that such actions contravene international law and relevant UN resolutions, and calling on these countries to reverse them.

* Launching a joint initiative to mobilize an effective international stance to halt these escalating and illegal Israeli practices, measures, and policies, and to compel Israel, as the occupying power, to respect the existing historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites.

* Establishing a sustainable institutional mechanism, including a media platform, to document Israeli violations against holy sites and worshippers, expose them, and clarify their catastrophic repercussions that drive toward religious conflict and undermine regional and international peace and security, before international organizations and global public opinion, and to provide necessary support for this mechanism.

* Calling for a joint ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States at a high-level during the upcoming General Assembly of the United Nations sessions in New York in September next year, to discuss the dangerous Israeli escalation in Jerusalem and its holy sites and ways to confront it.

* Thanking the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for organizing the meeting.