Ikram Kouachi and Betul Yilmaz
03 August 2025•Update: 03 August 2025
ANKARA / ISTANBUL
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab countries on Sunday strongly condemned repeated Israeli provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, following an intrusion by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the flashpoint site.
Ben-Gvir led a large group of illegal settlers in a mass incursion into the mosque complex early Sunday to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.
In a statement, the OIC said Ben-Gvir’s intrusion was part of the Israeli attempts "to change the historical and legal status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Jeddah-based organization called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to stop serious Israeli violations targeting Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry warned that the Israeli practices by government officials at Al-Aqsa Mosque “only serve to fuel conflict in the region.”
The kingdom stressed that such actions “violate international laws and norms” and undermine peace efforts.
Riyadh reiterated its “continued demand that the international community stop the practices of Israeli occupation officials” and called for urgent international intervention.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry called Ben-Gvir’s intrusion a “flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law” and an “unacceptable provocation and escalation.”
Amman reiterated that the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is “a place of worship exclusively for Muslims,” and underscored that the Jordanian-run Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department is the sole legal authority responsible for managing the site and organizing access to it.
Palestine also denounced the new raid led by Ben-Gvir into the religious site.
"This is not an isolated incident," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said. "These repeated stormings of Al-Aqsa by senior Israeli officials confirm that the current Israeli government is actively pursuing a colonial, racist policy aimed at erasing the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and liquidating the Palestinian cause."
It urged the international community, including the UN Security Council, to assume its legal and moral responsibilities in protecting the Palestinian people, warning that the continuation of unchecked Israeli assaults threatens to permanently derail any chance for peace.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas decried Ben-Gvir’s intrusion as a “criminal act” that poses a direct threat to both regional and international peace and security.
In a statement, Hamas said the raid was part of “an intensifying crime against Al-Aqsa Mosque” and an extension of Israel’s broader assault on the Palestinian people, land, and holy sites.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
