Several Muslim countries condemned the closing of the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslim worshippers during Ramadan amid the US-Israeli war with Iran and regional tensions.
The al-Aqsa Mosque complex, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, is the third holiest site in Islam. The site is also the holiest in Judaism, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of eight countries – Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – condemned Israel's continued closure of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem to Muslim worshippers, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.
The ministers said Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites. They stressed that the Jerusalem Fund and the Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with Jordan, are the governing authority.
They called on Israel to stop the restrictions and on the international community to oppose Israel's continued violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as its violations of the sanctity of these holy sites.
Citing public safety concerns, Israeli police said in a statement last week that all holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City including the Western Wall, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre would remain closed.
