Jordan denounces closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque building

Amman: Jordan on Tuesday strongly condemned a recent decision by the Israeli Magistrates Court to close down the Bab Al Rahma building on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that the Israeli judiciary had no jurisdiction over east Jerusalem and its holy sites, top of which is Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the site is an occupied territory that is subject to the international law and the international humanitarian law.
Israel, as the occupying power, should respect its commitments in this regard, he demanded.
Jordan, he added, categorically rejects all the ongoing illegal Israeli attempts to impose the Israeli laws on Al-Aqsa Mosque as a flagrant violation of the international law, and deems these laws as part of Israeli policies designed to change the historical and legal status quo at the holy compound, Petra reported.
Momani, who is also the government’s official spokesman, said that the Israeli police’s appeal to the court to permanently close down the Bab Al Rahma structure under the anti-terrorism law, is a matter of extreme gravity that would have serious consequences as it amounts to an aggression against Al-Aqsa and the Islamic Waqif Trust, which has the jurisdiction in this matter, and all Muslims.
Momani urged Israel, the occupying power, to immediately revoke “this politicised and provocative decision” and live up to its obligations under the international law, and also respect the Jerusalem Waqif, which has the exclusive jurisdiction over all the affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
SM/IINA