Eight Arab and Muslim-majority states issued a joint condemnation after more than 4,200 Israeli settlers and far-right activists entered the Al-Aqsa compound in occupied East Jerusalem under police protection. The ministers called the incursions provocative, warned they undermine a two-state peace, and urged Israel to lift restrictions on worshippers. They also pointed to the 2024 ICJ ruling that found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, illegal, and appealed to the international community to act to protect Jerusalem's holy sites.
Eight Arab and Muslim States Condemn Large-Scale Incursion by Israeli Settlers at Al-Aqsa
Israeli settlers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on July 23 [File: Ilia Yefimovich /AFP]
Eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries issued a forceful joint condemnation after thousands of Israeli settlers and far-right activists entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday.
In a communique released that day, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates denounced what they described as "mass incursions by settlers led by extremist Israeli ministers into the Noble Sanctuary" at Al-Aqsa. The statement said the incursions occurred under the protection of Israeli police forces.
Officials reported that more than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups entered the compound — one of the largest such incursions this year — to mark the Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B'Av. Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque gates, prevented many Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several people. The ministers' communique described these actions as provocative, warning they "fuel hatred and extremism" and undermine efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution.
The joint statement called the events "an unlawful attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo" of Jerusalem's holy sites and reiterated that "Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites." It urged Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa and to stop practices that violate the sanctity of the city's holy places.
For context, Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1980; in 2024 the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal. Under the long-standing status quo, the Jerusalem Waqf, a Jordan-appointed religious trust, administers the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The ministers also called on the international community to take concrete steps to compel Israel to cease violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and to uphold the sanctity and historical status of those places.
"These provocative 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.
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