Jordanian ministerial statement announces launch of initiative to rally international support for respecting the historic status of Jerusalem
Amman, Aug 5 (KUNA) -- The Arab Ministerial Committee tasked with mobilizing international action against Israel’s illegal policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem announced on Wednesday the agreement to launch a joint initiative to rally effective international support aimed at compelling the Israeli occupation to respect the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites. This was stated in a final statement following a meeting in the Jordanian capital of the foreign ministers of the Arab member states of the committee (Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco), the Secretary-General of the Arab League, and the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia.
The Amman statement said participants agreed on 15 points, including condemnation of Israeli policies and measures targeting the change of Jerusalem’s Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity, as well as its legal and demographic status, and rejection of these measures as null and void acts with no legal effect and a blatant violation of international law and Israel’s obligations as the occupying power.
The ministers affirmed that East Jerusalem is part of the occupied Palestinian territory, over which the occupation has no sovereignty, and that it is the capital of the State of Palestine, which must be realized as a free, independent, and sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 lines, living in peace and security alongside Israel on the basis of the two-state solution and in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.
The ministers condemned all Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary, as well as all attempts to alter the existing historical and legal status quo there and impose temporal and spatial segregation, including the escalating incursions carried out by settlers and extremist Israeli ministers and officials.
They affirmed that the entire 144-dunam area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound / the Noble Sanctuary is exclusively a place of worship for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Waqf Department and Al-Aqsa Affairs, under the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Places, is the sole legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction over managing all its affairs and regulating access to it.
They also condemned Israeli violations targeting Christian holy sites and threatening the historic Christian presence in Jerusalem, including restrictions on access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the practice of religious rites there, interference in church affairs, pressure on their institutions and properties, and attacks targeting clergy, worshippers, and religious symbols.
They expressed support for the Hashemite historical 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.
They also affirmed support for the steadfastness of Jerusalem residents, empowering them to face challenges and consolidate their presence in their city through providing all forms of developmental support, and strengthening and protecting Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem.
They stressed the importance of the role of the Jerusalem Committee and the Bayt Maqdis Fund Agency, the executive arm of the committee, and supported all efforts undertaken by the committee.
They warned that Israeli attacks on Islamic holy sites in occupied Jerusalem constitute a blatant provocation of the sentiments of approximately two billion Muslims worldwide, pushing 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.
They affirmed rejection of any unilateral decision violating the legal status of occupied Jerusalem, including the opening or transfer of diplomatic missions to the city, stressing that such actions contravene international law and relevant UN resolutions, and calling on these countries to reverse them.
They also announced agreement on launching 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.
They called for a joint ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League at a high-level during the upcoming September session of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the dangerous Israeli escalation in Jerusalem and its holy sites and ways to confront it. (End) A.M.S.
