Eight Arab and Muslim-majority nations have issued a sharp joint condemnation following a mass incursion by thousands of Israeli settlers and far-right figures into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. The Thursday escalation, coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, drew warnings over regional peace and the legal status quo.
Joint Diplomatic Condemnation Over Al-Aqsa Incursions
The diplomatic pushback arrived swiftly via a coordinated statement from the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. According to reporting, the foreign ministers denounced the mass incursions by settlers led by extremist Israeli ministers into the Noble Sanctuary
of Al-Aqsa.
The diplomats underscored that the storming of Islam’s third-holiest site took place under the protection of Israeli police forces. These provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism, and obstruct efforts to advance a just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-State solution,
the statement said, calling the escalation an unlawful attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo
of the holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites,
it added.
Foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the UAE
Furthermore, the coalition denounced the illegal and extremist acts represented by incitement and calls to mobilise incursions, as well as acts of violence committed by Israeli ministers and extremist groups.
The statement called on Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift the restrictions
imposed on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It also called on the international community to take a firm stance obligating Israel to cease its ongoing violations and illegal practices against the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and its violations of the sanctity of these holy sites.
Scale of the Tisha B’Av Demonstration and Access Restrictions
Thursday marked the Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, that commemorates the destruction, twice, of an ancient Jewish temple, according to religious tradition, believed to have stood at the site known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa and to Jews as the Temple Mount. More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, one of the largest incursions this year, to mark the Jewish holiday.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection. Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several people.
Historical Context and Legal Framework of Jerusalem
Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1980. Under the status quo, the Jerusalem Waqf, a Jordanian-appointed body, manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal.
Navigating Terminology in Middle Eastern Geopolitics
Many people have a hard time distinguishing between the terms Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim. Arab is an ethno-linguistic category, identifying people who speak the Arabic language as their mother tongue (or, in the case of immigrants, whose parents or grandparents spoke Arabic as their native language). Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. There are 26 countries or territories in western Asia and Africa where Arabic is the official or one of the official languages of the state, or alternately applies to the 22 member states of the League of Arab States.
To answer who is Middle Eastern, one must ask what the Middle East is. The Middle East itself is not a fixed term. It was originally coined in the early twentieth century to designate the area between the British colony of India and the Near East. The “Middle East” is a term describing a region, or a geographical area sharing certain characteristics as opposed to areas like West Asia or North Africa. Depending on how those characteristics are defined, the borders of the Middle East can change, and while Turkey, Israel and Iran are not Arabic-speaking countries, most maps would include them in the region.
