Wed 04 January 2023:
The United Arab Emirates and China called Tuesday for a UN Security Council meeting after Israel‘s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered Al-Aqsa Mosque‘s courtyards in occupied East Jerusalem amid warnings of unrest.
The Council is expected to convene on Thursday, diplomats said.
The UAE Foreign Ministry on Wednesday strongly condemned the “storming of Al Aqsa Mosque courtyard by an Israeli minister under the protection of Israeli forces”.
“The ministry underscored the need to respect the custodial role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan over the holy sites and endowments in accordance with international law and the historical situation at hand, and not to compromise the authority of the Jerusalem Endowment Administration and Al Aqsa Mosque,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The UAE and China called for an urgent meeting of the Security Council regarding the recent concerning developments at Al-Aqsa mosque.
Read the UAE’s statement below on the matter.📄https://t.co/GInSKjSAWW
— Shahad Matar (@UAEUNSpox) January 3, 2023
The visit drew fierce condemnation across the world, with the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, expressing deep concern over the recent developments.
”We’re deeply concerned by any unilateral actions that have the potential to exacerbate tensions precisely because we want to see the opposite happen,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said
”The United States stands firmly for the preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
He added that any unilateral actions undercutting the status quo are ”unacceptable.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would also seek a Security Council condemnation, the Palestinian Wafa News Agency said.
This follows a call between the foreign ministers of the UAE and Jordan, during which they stressed their condemnation of the visit.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area the Temple Mount, saying 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.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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