Cairo: The Arab Ministerial Committee tasked with international action to confront Israel’s illegal policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem, during its tenth meeting today at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo with the participation of the State of Qatar, reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, and that East Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine.
The committee rejected any attempt to undermine the Palestinian right to sovereignty over it, as well as any unilateral aggressions or measures affecting the legal status of Jerusalem.
The delegation of the State of Qatar to the committee meeting was headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi.
In a statement following its meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 164th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level, the committee stressed the necessity of adhering to the principle of a just and comprehensive peace conditional on ending the occupation, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign, geographically contiguous, and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital along the June 4, 1967 borders, on the basis of the two-state solution in accordance with international law, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the relevant international references.
The committee expressed its condemnation of measures aimed at isolating Jerusalem and restricting its residents, most recently the approval of the settlement plan in Area E1, intended to besiege the Old City and cut it off from its Palestinian surroundings, in an attempt to undermine the establishment of the Palestinian state, which constitutes a blatant assault on the Palestinian people’s right to realize their independent state.
The committee also condemned all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition and the historical and religious character of Jerusalem, as well as the status of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, affirming that such practices and violations are in contravention of international law and legitimate international resolutions, in addition to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which confirmed the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation and the invalidity of the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
It also condemned the unprecedented escalation in Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and its Islamic identity, including incursions by extremist Israeli ministers and officials, their racist inciteful statements, and the Israeli escalatory measures aimed at altering the existing historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites, and Israel’s condemned attempts to impose practices intended to enforce temporal and spatial division in Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
In this context, the committee members strongly condemned the storming of Al-Haram Al-Sharif by the Israeli Minister of National Security along with dozens of settlers, and his pledge to allow settlers to hold religious rituals, singing, dancing, and raising Israeli flags inside the sanctuary. They also condemned the escalation by extremist groups calling for the offering of sacrifices inside the sanctuary and the attempts of some to do so.
The committee further condemned all Israeli illegal measures against endowment lands and properties, expressing their rejection of the arbitrary restrictions and obstacles imposed by Israel, the occupying power, which limit the free access of Muslim worshippers to Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, such as repeated closures, random checkpoints, physical assaults, and age restrictions, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, Fridays, and religious occasions.
The committee strongly condemned recent Israeli actions threatening the Christian presence in Jerusalem, particularly the decision to freeze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. They also denounced ongoing settler attacks on Jerusalem's Christian population, escalating vandalism of churches, monasteries, and cemeteries - including the Church of Saint George and the historic Christian cemetery in Taybeh - as well as assaults on clergy, nuns, and worshippers.
The committee called for the full implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian issue, including UN Security Council Resolutions 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 476 and 478 (1980), and 2334 (2016). They also reaffirmed UNESCO decisions recognizing Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, in its entirety (144 dunams), as an exclusively Muslim place of worship, and part of a World Heritage Site under threat due to Israeli violations.
The meeting emphasized the importance of the Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and affirmed the exclusive authority of the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs' Jerusalem Endowment Council to manage all affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including access arrangements.
The committee also acknowledged the role of the Jerusalem Committee and its executive arm, the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, in defending the city's religious and cultural heritage.
They agreed to strengthen coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its subsidiary bodies, and to intensify engagement with regional and international organizations to document Israeli violations, oppose efforts to alter the status quo at Al-Aqsa, and mobilize global pressure to halt settler violence and hold the Israeli occupation accountable under international law.
Furthermore, the committee tasked Arab League missions and ambassadors of member states with building upon recent international positions critical of Israeli extremist practices, and working toward the adoption of a strong, unified international stance warning of the threats to regional and global peace and security.
The meeting was chaired by Jordan and included participation from Iraq (current Arab League summit chair), Qatar, Palestine, Algeria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Arab League Secretary-General.
