JEDDAH, April 12, 2026 (WAFA) – The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussein Ibrahim Taha, strongly condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram al-Sharif compound by the extremist Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, accompanied by groups of extremist colonists and under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.

He considered this a blatant attack on the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and a deliberate and dangerous provocation of the feelings of Muslims worldwide.

The Secretary-General affirmed that Israel, the occupying power, has no sovereignty over the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

He stressed that any measures taken by the occupying power in this regard are null and void. He warned of the danger of the continuation of these Israeli violations, which are part of its plans to impose new realities on the ground through attempts to alter the geographic and demographic makeup of occupied Jerusalem, undermine the historical and legal status quo of the holy sites in the city, and attempt to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque both temporally and spatially, in flagrant violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

The Secretary-General of the Organization held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for all the serious repercussions of the continuation of these provocative incursions, which are likely to fuel violence and tension in the region and the world at large.

He reiterated his call on all members of the international community to assume their responsibilities and take deterrent diplomatic, legal, and economic measures to pressure the Israeli occupation to respect its obligations under international law, cease these repeated violations, ensure respect for the sanctity of holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, and preserve the historical and legal status of holy places in Jerusalem and throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.

K.T