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Eight Muslim-majority countries, including Türkiye and Egypt, have called on the international community to take firm action against what they described as Israel’s ongoing violations at religious sites in Jerusalem, particularly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar condemned restrictions affecting Muslim worshippers seeking access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The ministers urged Israel to immediately reverse the measures and allow unrestricted access to places of worship.
The statement focused on security measures imposed around Jerusalem’s Old City, an area that contains some of the most significant religious sites in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
According to the ministers, these restrictions have limited the ability of Muslim worshippers to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, one of the most important months in the Islamic calendar when religious gatherings traditionally increase.
They argued that the security measures, along with access restrictions imposed at other places of worship in the Old City, violate international law and long-standing arrangements governing the site.
In the joint declaration, the ministers said that security restrictions around the Old City and its places of worship, together with what they described as discriminatory and arbitrary access limits, amount to a "flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, the historical and legal status quo, and the principle of unrestricted access to places of worship."
The ministers also urged governments and international institutions to take a stronger stance and push Israel to halt what they described as violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
They expressed what they called their "absolute rejection and condemnation" of the restrictions as well as what they described as provocative actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is known in Islam as Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
The compound holds deep religious significance for Muslims worldwide and sits within Jerusalem’s Old City, a walled historic district that houses several major religious landmarks.
The ministers further stated that Israel does not hold sovereignty over what they described as occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites.
The statement also reaffirmed that the entire Al-Aqsa compound, which covers 144 dunams, or roughly 144,000 square meters, is considered an exclusively Muslim place of worship.
According to the ministers, administrative authority over the compound lies with Jordan’s Waqf authority, an Islamic trust responsible for managing religious endowments and overseeing the site’s administration.
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