Ministry of Foreign Affairs Condemns Ben-Gvir’s Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Calls for Reopening of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemns the storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the so-called extremist minister in the Israeli government, Ben-Gvir, under heavy protection by occupation forces. This comes alongside the continued military closure of the mosque for the thirty-ninth consecutive day, as well as intensified restrictions around the Old City, constituting a blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo in occupied Jerusalem and a provocation to the feelings of Palestinians, people around the world, and believers everywhere.
The Ministry affirms that this incursion is part of a systematic Israeli policy directed at the level of the Israeli government, aimed at imposing a new reality by force and undermining the status quo in East Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This falls within a colonial project seeking to Judaize Jerusalem and its holy sites, displace its indigenous Palestinian population by force and illegal measures, and alter its legal, human, historical, and cultural character. The Ministry reiterates that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its full area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims.
The Ministry further stresses that the State of Palestine holds sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem, a right guaranteed under internationally recognized laws. It emphasizes that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over the city or any of its holy sites, and that all unilateral and illegal measures taken by the occupation authorities are null, void, and without legal standing, and constitute an assault on the historical and legal rights of Palestinians in the holy city.
The Ministry holds the Israeli government fully responsible for these grave violations, and demands the immediate and unconditional reopening of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the lifting of all restrictions on worshippers’ access, and an end to all incursions, attacks, and provocations by settlers against holy sites. It further calls on the international community and its institutions, including UNESCO, to take urgent and concrete action to halt these violations, ensure full protection of freedom of worship in occupied Jerusalem, intensify international presence on the ground, and impose effective sanctions to hold the Israeli government and all those involved fully accountable for their crimes and continued breaches of international law.