8 NATIONS CONDEMN ISRAELI RESTRICTIONS ON WORSHIP IN JERUSALEM

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Eight countries on Monday strongly condemned Israeli restrictions on religious worship in Jerusalem, warning that continued measures threaten both religious freedom and regional stability, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

The foreign ministers of Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates rejected the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem, including the prevention of Muslim worshippers from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque.

They renewed their condemnation and rejection of any Israeli attempts to "alter" the legal and historical status quo at Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

"These continued Israeli measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as of the existing legal and historical status quo, and represent an infringement on the unrestricted right of access to places of worship," they said in a joint statement.

The top diplomats affirmed their "absolute rejection of the illegal and restrictive" Israeli measures against Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem, including preventing Christians from freely accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform their religious rites.

Stressing the necessity of respecting the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem and its Muslim and Christian holy sites, the ministers reiterated that Israel, "as the occupying Power, holds no sovereignty "over occupied Jerusalem."

They underscored the need to halt all measures that impede worshippers’ access to their places of worship in Jerusalem.

The ministers renewed their condemnation of Israel’s continued closure of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshippers for 30 consecutive days, including during the holy month of Ramadan.

They reiterated that the entire area of Al-Aqsa Mosque, amounting to 144 dunams (144,000 square metres), 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.

"The Ministers called on Israel, as the occupying Power, to immediately cease the closure of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, remove access restrictions in the Old City of Jerusalem, and refrain from obstructing Muslim worshippers’ access to the mosque," according to the statement.

They also urged the international community to take a" firm stance" to stop Israel’s violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU