Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Jordan Denounces Israeli Decision to Shut Down Aqsa’s Bab Al Rahma Building | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55383023
Caption:

Israeli police officers take positions on the roof of al-Aqsa mosque during clashes with Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Amir Cohen


Jordan Denounces Israeli Decision to Shut Down Aqsa’s Bab Al Rahma Building

by | Sep 13, 2017 | Middle East |

Jordan Denounces Israeli Decision to Shut Down Aqsa’s Bab Al Rahma Building

Amman- Jordan on Tuesday strongly condemned a recent decision by the Israeli Magistrates Court to close down the Bab Al Rahma building on the Al Aqsa Mosque/ Haram Al Sharif compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Bab Al Rahma (Arabic for “the door of mercy”) is located in the eastern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Inside the door, there are several facilities and offices. The Islamic Heritage Committee has been the headquarters of its advocacy activities since 1992 before it was dissolved by the Israeli occupation in 2003.

Islamic authorities demanded that the occupation respect the status quo since 1967 and the need to respect all the covenants, conventions and agreements with the Jordanian government and stop ignoring Security Council resolutions, UNESCO and international legitimacy.

State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that the Israeli judiciary had no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem and its holy sites, on top of which is the holy Al Aqsa Mosque, as the site is an occupied territory that is subject to the international law and the international humanitarian law.

Israel, as the occupying power, should respect its commitments in this regard, he demanded.
Jordan, he added, categorically rejects all the ongoing illegal Israeli attempts to impose the Israeli laws on Al Aqsa Mosque as a flagrant violation of the international law, and deems these laws as part of Israeli policies designed to change the historical and legal status quo at the holy compound.

Momani, who is also the government’s official spokesman, said that the Israeli police appeal to the court to permanently close down the Bab Al Rahma structure under the anti-terrorism law would have serious consequences as it amounts to an aggression against the Aqsa Mosque, Muslims, and the Islamic Waqf (trust), which has the jurisdiction in this matter.

Momani urged Israel as the occupying power to immediately revoke “this politicized and provocative decision” and live up to its obligations under the international law, and also respect the Jerusalem Waqf, which has the exclusive jurisdiction over all the affairs of the Aqsa Mosque.