LONDON: Jordan condemned an Israeli far-right minister who stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque alongside Jewish extremists in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs warned that the action constitutes a blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo at the site, according to the Petra news agency.
Minister of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Yitzhak Wasserlauf toured the site ahead of Jerusalem Day, which commemorates Israel’s military control over the eastern part of the city, on Thursday evening and into Friday.
The Al-Aqsa compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, also known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif, has been the site of frequent conflicts, including raids by settlers and restrictions on Muslim worshippers, since East Jerusalem was occupied in June 1967.
The 144 dunum (14.4 hectares) area is administered by Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf, which has the legal authority to manage the compound and control access.
