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Arab Bloc Demands Crackdown on Israeli Jerusalem Attacks
(MENAFN) The Arab Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem demanded Monday that world powers impose "restrictive and deterrent measures" to stop Israeli assaults on holy sites and what it termed occupier terrorism, escalating regional pressure over the status of the contested city.
The committee also endorsed a Qatari initiative to launch a media platform aimed at tracking and exposing Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem.
The demands emerged from a statement released after the committee's 11th session, a body created to coordinate international action against Israeli policy in the city. The gathering took place alongside the Arab League Council's 166th ministerial-level session in Cairo, chaired by Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in attendance.
Committee members agreed to "strengthen Arab efforts and diplomatic contacts with influential international parties to push for restrictive and deterrent measures to stop attacks on holy sites and occupier terrorism."
A documentation platform takes shape
Ministers backed Qatar's push for a "sustainable institutional mechanism" — anchored by a media platform — to monitor, record and publicize Israeli violations against holy sites and worshippers, along with their fallout.
The Arab League General Secretariat was directed to work with member states to stand up the mechanism, determine how it will operate, and secure funding.
The committee further called for a unified Arab and international diplomatic and media push to spotlight Israeli violations across Jerusalem and the wider occupied Palestinian territories, with the goal of building international pressure to end them.
Pressure on the UN Security Council
Members pledged to step up outreach to the international community — the UN Security Council chief among them — to build support for compelling Israel to end violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites and to respect their long-standing historical and legal status.
The statement also stressed continued cooperation with regional and global bodies to document Israeli breaches of international and humanitarian law in Jerusalem.
Settlement expansion draws sharp rebuke
The committee issued a forceful condemnation of Israeli authorities over tenders for 1,234 illegal settlement units under the E1 plan east of occupied Jerusalem, cautioning that the project would cut off geographic continuity between the northern and southern West Bank, cut East Jerusalem off from surrounding Palestinian areas, and derail prospects for an "independent, viable, and geographically contiguous" Palestinian state.
Israeli authorities issued the tenders on August 18 under the broader E1 scheme, which covers roughly 3,400 settlement units between East Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement — a project that has triggered widespread international backlash over its threat to West Bank territorial continuity.
UNRWA facility raided
The committee also denounced the raid and forced evacuation of the Qalandia Training Center, a facility tied to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, in occupied Jerusalem. It branded the raid a "dangerous escalation and a flagrant breach of international law" and a violation of protections granted to U.N. bodies, while rejecting what it called the "systematic Israeli campaign" against UNRWA's presence and work.
Israeli forces stormed the site on August 25 and cleared out its staff. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said authorities had begun the evacuation, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was carried out to enforce domestic law concerning UNRWA. The Qalandia center is among the agency's oldest vocational training facilities.
Al-Aqsa status reaffirmed
On the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the committee condemned an "unprecedented escalation" of Israeli actions it said are designed to alter the site's historical and legal status quo, reaffirming that the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif — its full 144-dunum expanse — remains "a place of worship exclusively for Muslims."
The statement also underscored the role of the historical Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem in protecting the locations and preserving their identity and status.
The Arab Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem was formed in May 2021 under an Arab League Council decision to engage permanent U.N. Security Council members and other influential states in countering Israeli policy in occupied Jerusalem.
The committee also endorsed a Qatari initiative to launch a media platform aimed at tracking and exposing Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem.
The demands emerged from a statement released after the committee's 11th session, a body created to coordinate international action against Israeli policy in the city. The gathering took place alongside the Arab League Council's 166th ministerial-level session in Cairo, chaired by Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in attendance.
Committee members agreed to "strengthen Arab efforts and diplomatic contacts with influential international parties to push for restrictive and deterrent measures to stop attacks on holy sites and occupier terrorism."
A documentation platform takes shape
Ministers backed Qatar's push for a "sustainable institutional mechanism" — anchored by a media platform — to monitor, record and publicize Israeli violations against holy sites and worshippers, along with their fallout.
The Arab League General Secretariat was directed to work with member states to stand up the mechanism, determine how it will operate, and secure funding.
The committee further called for a unified Arab and international diplomatic and media push to spotlight Israeli violations across Jerusalem and the wider occupied Palestinian territories, with the goal of building international pressure to end them.
Pressure on the UN Security Council
Members pledged to step up outreach to the international community — the UN Security Council chief among them — to build support for compelling Israel to end violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites and to respect their long-standing historical and legal status.
The statement also stressed continued cooperation with regional and global bodies to document Israeli breaches of international and humanitarian law in Jerusalem.
Settlement expansion draws sharp rebuke
The committee issued a forceful condemnation of Israeli authorities over tenders for 1,234 illegal settlement units under the E1 plan east of occupied Jerusalem, cautioning that the project would cut off geographic continuity between the northern and southern West Bank, cut East Jerusalem off from surrounding Palestinian areas, and derail prospects for an "independent, viable, and geographically contiguous" Palestinian state.
Israeli authorities issued the tenders on August 18 under the broader E1 scheme, which covers roughly 3,400 settlement units between East Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement — a project that has triggered widespread international backlash over its threat to West Bank territorial continuity.
UNRWA facility raided
The committee also denounced the raid and forced evacuation of the Qalandia Training Center, a facility tied to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, in occupied Jerusalem. It branded the raid a "dangerous escalation and a flagrant breach of international law" and a violation of protections granted to U.N. bodies, while rejecting what it called the "systematic Israeli campaign" against UNRWA's presence and work.
Israeli forces stormed the site on August 25 and cleared out its staff. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said authorities had begun the evacuation, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was carried out to enforce domestic law concerning UNRWA. The Qalandia center is among the agency's oldest vocational training facilities.
Al-Aqsa status reaffirmed
On the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the committee condemned an "unprecedented escalation" of Israeli actions it said are designed to alter the site's historical and legal status quo, reaffirming that the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif — its full 144-dunum expanse — remains "a place of worship exclusively for Muslims."
The statement also underscored the role of the historical Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem in protecting the locations and preserving their identity and status.
The Arab Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem was formed in May 2021 under an Arab League Council decision to engage permanent U.N. Security Council members and other influential states in countering Israeli policy in occupied Jerusalem.
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