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Ammon News -

 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said Tuesday that the Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif in occupied Jerusalem, in its entire area of ??144 dunums, including all its walls and gates, is a purely place of worship for Muslims.

It said in a statement that the Jordanian-run Waqf (endowments) and Al-Aqsa Affairs Administration in Jerusalem is the authority, under the international law and the historical and legal status quo, that has the exclusive jurisdiction to run all the affairs of the holy site and organize entry to and exit from the compound.

The ministry’s spokesman Dhaifallah Al-Fayez reiterated the kingdom’s rejection of any attempt to change the historical and legal status quo in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He pointed out that the Mugharabi Gate and the road leading to it, like the rest of the other gates of the compound, is an integral part of the Al-Haram Al-Sharif, a fact which was underlined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

He said that Israel has been holding the keys to the gate since the 1967 occupation and has denied the Waqf Administration from the right to organize the entry of non-Muslims and tourists to the compound since 2000 in a gross violation of the status quo.

Fayez reaffirmed that Jordan, based on the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will pursue its efforts to protect and care for the mosque and safeguard the right of all Muslims to the holy site.