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RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced on Sunday the “provocative practices” by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, saying such practices fuel conflict in the region.

“�������� condemns in the strongest terms the repeated provocative practices by Israeli occupation government officials against Al-Aqsa Mosque and emphasizes that these practices fuel the conflict in the region,” the foreign ministry said.

Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there. 

| تعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة المملكة العربية السعودية بأشد العبارات الممارسات الاستفزازية المتكررة من قبل مسؤولي حكومة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي بحق المسجد الأقصى المبارك، مؤكدة أن تلك الممارسات تؤجج الصراع في المنطقة.

— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA)

“The Kingdom emphasizes its continued demand to the international community to stop the practices of Israeli occupation officials that violate international laws and norms and undermine peace efforts in the region,” the statement added.

�������� had consistently voiced its condemnation of what it described as the continued blatant Israeli attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Jordan also strongly condemned Ben-Gvir’s storming of Al-Aqsa, and a foreign ministry statement has described the act as “a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, an unacceptable provocation and a condemned escalation.”

“Israel holds no sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” the statement said.

Ministry spokesperson ambassador Sufian Qudah reiterated Jordan’s “absolute rejection and firm condemnation of the continued, provocative incursions by the extremist minister, as well as the facilitation of repeated settler entries into Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli police.”

دانت وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين بأشدّ العبارات، اقتحام وزير الأمن القومي الإسرائيلي المتطرف إيتمار بن غفير، المسجد الأقصى المبارك/ الحرم القدسي الشريف، تحت حماية شرطة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، باعتباره خرقًا فاضحًا للقانون الدولي والقانون الدولي الإنساني، واستفزازًا غير مقبول…

— وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية (@ForeignMinistry)

Such actions constitute a clear breach of the historical and legal status quo of the mosque and represent an attempt to divide it temporally and spatially, and a desecration of its sanctity, Qudah said.

Qudah warned of consequences of the provocations and violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, which, he said, aimed at “further dangerous escalation and unilateral measures in the occupied West Bank.”