Ben Gvir leads hundreds into Al-Aqsa as Jordan and others condemn status-quo breaches

A day after Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound, Pakistan and seven other countries on Friday issued a joint statement condemning the “provocative actions”. The joint statement, shared by the Foreign Office, was issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ministers condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli escalation at Al Aqsa Mosque, particularly the continued mass settlers’ incursions led by extremist Israeli ministers, under the protection of the Israeli forces, the raising of the Israeli flag within its courtyards, the erection by Israeli police of two tents, and all other inflammatory acts”. Access to the site is governed by a decades-old “status quo” arrangement between Israel and Jordan, whose religious foundation administers the place. Under that arrangement, Jews may visit but are not permitted to pray there, while Muslim worship is meant to continue uninterrupted. “These provocative and unacceptable actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, the relevant United Nations resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem,” the joint statement said. The ministers also “deplore and condemn in the strongest terms the illegal and extremist acts of incitement, incursions’ mobilisation calls and violence by Israeli extremist ministers and groups”, warning that such actions “fuel hatred and extremism, and obstruct efforts to advance a just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-State solution”. The statement said restrictions on access to the Old City of Jerusalem and its places of worship, along with “discriminatory and arbitrary access restrictions” to other places of worship, “constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, and an unlawful attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo”. It added that the ministers stressed “Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites”. The ministers further condemned Israel’s “continued and systematic violations and measures” aimed at altering the “historical, legal, and demographic character of occupied East Jerusalem” and undermining the sanctity and status of its Islamic and Christian holy sites. They reaffirmed their “categorical rejection of any attempts to alter the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites”, while recognising “the special role of the historical Hashemite custodianship in this regard”. “The ministers reiterate that the entire area of Al Aqsa Mosque, which amounts to 144 dunams, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Endowments and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is the legal entity with exclusive jurisdiction to administer the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and to regulate entry thereto,” the joint statement said. The ministers called on Israel as the pccupying power to immediately remove access restrictions to the Old City, and refrain from obstructing Muslim worshippers’ access to the mosque. The ministers also called on the international community “to adopt a firm position that compels Israel to halt its ongoing violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as its violations of the sanctity of these holy places”. Gvir’s incursion coincided with Tisha B’Av, the Jewish fasting day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which is being observed from Wednesday night through Thursday this year. AFP footage showed Ben Gvir and hundreds of fellow worshippers at the Al-Aqsa compound, including Jewish settlers who lined up from the early morning hours to enter the site, where many performed prayers. Since taking office, Ben Gvir has stormed the site more than a dozen times, and has previously used Tisha B’av gatherings to call for tougher action against Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the site’s decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning. The visit coincided with Tisha B’Av, the Jewish fasting day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which is being observed from Wednesday night through Thursday this year. AFP footage showed Ben Gvir and hundreds of fellow worshippers at the Al-Aqsa compound, including Jewish settlers who lined up from the early morning hours to enter the site, where many performed prayers. “Look at what’s happening here: Jews are praying and feel that they are the rightful owners here,” Ben Gvir said in a video filmed at the compound and posted on his Telegram channel. “Everywhere, people understand that the State of Israel is the sovereign authority. There is still more to do, and with God’s help, we will continue to move forward.” Located in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, the compound is revered as Islam’s third holiest site and, simultaneously, as Judaism’s most sacred location, where the two ancient temples once stood. Access is governed by a decades-old “status quo” arrangement between Israel and Jordan, whose religious foundation administers the site. Under that arrangement, Jews may visit but are not permitted to pray there, while Muslim worship is meant to continue uninterrupted. In recent years, however, Ben Gvir and other Jewish visitors have repeatedly tested and breached those limits, including through open prayer at the compound, drawing condemnation from Jordan, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Muslim religious bodies. Jewish visitors enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on July 23, 2026. — Reuters Jordan denounced Ben Gvir’s latest visit to the compound. “Jordan firmly rejects and strongly condemns the continued incursions by Israeli officials, Knesset members and extremist settlers into Al-Aqsa mosque, as well as the role of Israeli police in facilitating these actions,” foreign ministry spokesperson Fouad Al-Majali said in a statement on Thursday. He described the actions as “unacceptable attempts to impose new realities at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif through efforts to alter its existing arrangements”. Turkiye also slammed Ben Gvir’s visit. “We remind the international community that it is a shared responsibility to prevent the Netanyahu government’s provocative actions and attempts to create faits accomplis, which violate the historical and legal status of holy sites in Jerusalem, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, which belongs exclusively to Muslims,” the Turkish foreign ministry said. The Israeli government has publicly maintained that its policy on the status quo remains unchanged, even as incidents like Thursday’s continue to inflame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since taking office, Ben Gvir has stormed the site more than a dozen times, and has previously used Tisha B’av gatherings to call for tougher action against Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Beyond marking the temples’ destruction, the day of fasting is traditionally tied to a string of calamities said to have befallen the Jewish people on or near the same date throughout history.

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the site's decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning. AFP footage showed Ben Gvir and hundreds of fellow worshippers at the Al-Aqsa compound, including Jewish settlers who lined up from the early morning hours to enter the site.