The United Arab Emirates on Monday condemned the actions of right-wing Israeli activists on the Temple Mount in advance of the Jerusalem Day festivities in which they flew Israeli flags, chanted slogans and prayed.
"The UAE strongly condemned the storming of extremist settlers into the courtyard of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli forces," the UAE Foreign Ministry stated on Monday, a day after the event.
"The UAE strongly condemned the storming of extremist settlers into the courtyard of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli forces."
UAE Foreign Ministry
Jordan and Turkey also issued statements.
The Turkish statement mentioned MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Religious Zionist Party) who also visited the Temple Mount on Sunday to protest the status quo which forbids Jewish prayer at the site. He also wanted to push back against Hamas which had promised to launch rockets against Israel for holding a flag day parade in the old city to mark its reunification during the Six Day War, 55 years ago.
'The raids on the al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli member of Parliament, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and by radical Jewish groups under the protection of the Israeli police, as well as the attempts of these groups to worship in this area are a clear violation of the status quo of al-Haram al-Sharif and the al-Aqsa Mosque," Turkey said.
"We call on the Israeli government to take the necessary measures to preserve the status quo of these holy places, and reiterate our call not to allow provocative actions that will escalate the tension in the region."
"We call on the Israeli government to take the necessary measures to preserve the status quo of these holy places, and reiterate our call not to allow provocative actions that will escalate the tension in the region."
Turkey
Background
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. It is referenced by Muslims as the al-Haram al-Sharif or the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Israel applied sovereignty to all areas of Jerusalem after it captured the eastern part of the city from Jordan during the Six Day War. But it has allowed the Islamic Wakf to administer the site, recognized Jordan's special custodial role there and has upheld a status quo in which only Muslims can worship there.
There is a growing right-wing moment that is pushing to allow for Jewish prayer at the site, where the biblical Temple once stood.