AMMAN / Leith Al-Junaidi / Anadolu

Eight Arab and Islamic countries on Thursday condemned in the 'strongest terms' the ongoing Israeli escalation at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the repeated incursions of settlers and extremist ministers under the protection of Israeli police.

This came in a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.

The ministers denounced the recent 'provocative practices' inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, including raising the Israeli flag, setting up police tents, and imposing arbitrary restrictions on the entry of worshippers into the Old City.

They described these actions as a 'flagrant violation of international law and an illegal attempt to change the existing historical and legal status.'

The ministers affirmed their categorical rejection of any attempts to erase the identity and demographic character of the holy city.

They warned that calls for incitement and violence by extremist groups and ministers fuel hatred and hinder peace efforts based on the two-state solution.

The ministers' statement stressed that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its holy sites.

The statement noted that the entire area of the Noble Sanctuary (144 dunams) is a place of worship solely for Muslims.

It pointed out that the Jerusalem Awqaf Administration affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf is the sole legal authority responsible for managing the mosque's affairs and regulating entry.

The statement praised the special role of the historical Hashemite custodianship in protecting the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

It called on the international community to take a 'firm stance that obligates Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately cease all its violations and urgently lift the restrictions imposed on freedom of worship in Jerusalem.'

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with a number of Knesset members and settlers, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy Israeli police guard, in the largest incursion the mosque has seen in months.

Ben-Gvir posted a video on his Telegram account from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, in which he said: 'We are also witnessing tremendous progress on the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque).'

Extremist Israeli right-wing groups had called for large-scale incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the so-called 'Tisha B'Av' (commemorating the destruction of the Temple).

Israeli police have allowed settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque since 2003, while the Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem repeatedly calls for an end to these incursions, without response from Israeli authorities.

Jews annually observe, with fasting and mourning, what they call 'Tisha B'Av' (the destruction of the Temple), claiming that the Babylonians and Romans destroyed the First and Second Temples in 586 BCE and 70 CE respectively.

Palestinians say that Israel is intensively working to Judaize the eastern part of Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic identity, while they insist on it as the capital of their future state.