News - Middle East: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs has denounced the Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry stressed that Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs is the sole authority responsible for managing and regulating Al-Aqsa’s affairs.

On Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers forcefully went to the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in occupied al-Quds to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

According to the eyewitnesses, they performed provocative Talmudic rituals at the Mosque’s gates to mark Shavuot.

The Ministry described the setters’ behavior as “inflammatory acts that aim to impose new temporal and spatial divisions at the mosque.”

“[The Settlers’ incursion] would not be possible without the protection and facilitation of the Israeli police,” said Sufian Qudah, the Ministry spokesperson, and demanded that the Israeli authorities “halt their irresponsible and dangerous practices.”

Qudah said the 144,000 square meter area of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is a place of worship that is exclusively reserved for Muslims.

He highlighted that the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, is the only organization responsible for managing the affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Certain Jewish sects call the area the “Temple Mount,” and claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East al-Quds, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

It occupied the entire city in 1980 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

While the issue of settlers entering the area of the Mosque is not new, since October 7, 2023, when the Israeli regime began its genocidal war against Gaza, very large groups of settlers alongside far-right Israeli ministers, especially Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Knesset members have been entering the area.

Before the events of Monday and Tuesday, on May 26, during the so-called “flag March,” Ben-Gvir, Knesset members, and a very large group of settlers entered the area of the Mosque.

“These acts are not only provocative but also recklessly escalate tensions, especially as Israel expands its war on Gaza and intensifies its operations in the occupied West Bank,” said Qudah at the time.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, since October 7, 2023, when the Israeli regime began its genocidal war in Gaza, the regime has killed 54,510 and injured 124,901, most of whom are children and women.

Source: Press TV