Arab News 

DUBAI: The Jordanian government has called on Israel to respect the sanctity of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which recently reopened to Muslim worshippers after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus.

In a diplomatic note to Tel Aviv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated that Israel as an occupying power should ‘respect the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and end all provocations and violations there,’ state news agency Petra reported.

The ministry’s spokesperson Deifallah Al-Fayez condemned the continued Israeli violations at the mosque, the most recent of which was the ‘Israeli occupation forces allowing hundreds of Jewish extremists to storm the mosque’, Petra added.

Al-Aqsa is a place of worship for Muslims only and the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, which affiliated to Jordan, is the sole institution responsible for administrating the affairs of the mosque, the spokesman said, as he called for global pressure to end Israel’s violations in against the Al-Aqsa status quo.