RAMALLAH, July 23, 2026 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the largest colonist incursion in months into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, led by the extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The incursion coincided with the so-called "anniversary of the destruction of the Temple" and was accompanied by the performance of Talmudic rituals, the raising of the Israeli authorities' flags, and provocative acts within the mosque's courtyards, in an attempt to violate its purely Islamic identity and the existing historical and legal status quo.
The Ministry warned against the occupation's plans to entrench Talmudic rituals within the Al-Aqsa Mosque and undermine its historical and legal status. This is being done by intensifying support and protection for the colonists, imposing barriers and obstacles to the access of Muslim worshippers, and allowing the performance of Talmudic rituals and the raising of the occupation's flags within the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Ministry described that such actions are an attempt to move these violations to a stage of establishing illegal facts on the ground and imposing a temporal and spatial division of the Haram al-Sharif.
It emphasized that the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunams, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, and that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly over the city of Jerusalem.
The Ministry asserted that all measures, actions, and practices are null and void and do not create any legal or historical right, and that they all violate international law and UN resolutions, especially Security Council Resolutions 476 and 478. She affirmed that the State of Palestine is sovereign over the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
It also called upon the international community, including all relevant states, organizations, and international bodies, to uphold their legal and moral responsibilities, and not to be content with statements of condemnation.
It also called for taking practical and binding steps to halt these violations, intensify the international presence on the ground, ensure respect for the existing historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic and Christian holy sites.
The Ministry urged to prevent Israeli from imposing any restrictions on the access of Muslim and Christian worshippers to their places of worship in the Holy City, or from forcibly imposing any new colonial realities. She stressed the need to enforce respect for the existing legal and historical status quo.
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