Jerusalem International Foundation mobilizes 14 countries to confront the 'encroachment' of the occupation in Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Jerusalem International Foundation issued strong warnings about the serious repercussions of the comprehensive closure imposed by the Israeli occupation on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which lasted for 40 days and ended on April 8th. In a statement, the Foundation considered these arbitrary measures to have directly undermined the historical and legal status quo in the Mosque, necessitating immediate and decisive intervention from Arab and Islamic powers.

The Foundation sent urgent messages to the foreign ministers of 14 Arab and Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and Malaysia, in which it affirmed that the occupation authorities succeeded in marginalizing the role of the Islamic Endowments, which have the exclusive right to manage the Mosque. The messages clarified that the occupation imposed its police as a de facto administration, encroaching on the administrative and reconstruction functions historically carried out by the Jordanian Endowments.

The report issued by the Foundation, signed by its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hamid bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar, described this closure as the longest in eight centuries, as the occupation exploited the tense regional circumstances to impose strict restrictions. These restrictions included preventing worshippers from performing Taraweeh prayers and I'tikaf during twenty days of the blessed month of Ramadan, in addition to a historical precedent of preventing Eid prayers and five consecutive Friday prayers.

The Foundation stressed that these systematic steps aim to seize the decision to open and close the Mosque from the hands of the Islamic Endowments administration, and to transform its role from a sovereign body to merely an organizer of Islamic presence under Israeli security supervision. It pointed out that this escalating path began in 2002 with the withdrawal of powers to admit tourists, leading to the imposition of public religious rituals for settlers in 2022.

The messages reviewed recent field developments that witnessed the transformation of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards into open spaces for settler activities in early 2025, in a step that reflects the occupation's desire to completely change the identity of the place. The Foundation affirmed that the protection of Al-Aqsa is no longer the sole responsibility of Jordan, but rather a collective responsibility that requires the formation of a strong Arab and Islamic protection network that re-establishes Islamic sovereignty over the Mosque.

The occupation authorities had used the declared state of emergency during the recent military confrontation as a pretext to close Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City since February 28th, which the Foundation considered a political exploitation of security events to pass Judaization plans. The Mosque was not reopened until after the announcement of a ceasefire, which proves the occupation's use of closure as a tool of collective punishment and political pressure.

In conclusion of its calls, the Jerusalem International Foundation demanded that the addressed countries take action in international forums and exert diplomatic pressure to re-establish the existing historical status quo. It affirmed that silence on these measures will lead to further erosion of the Endowments' powers, leading to the complete temporal and spatial division that the occupation seeks to achieve by all available means.

The protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque's identity has now exceeded Jordan's capabilities alone, imposing a national, religious, and moral responsibility on Arab and Islamic countries.