The U.S. has expressed its concerns by the far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday morning.
'We absolutely are concerned by today's visit to Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem,' Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Vedant Patel, told reporters, reaffirming the U.S. position in support of the historic status quo of holy sites.
'We underline Jordan's special role in Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem,' Patel added. 'Any unilateral action or rhetoric that deviates or jeopardizes the status quo is completely unacceptable.'
Trkiye, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco have all condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Ben-Gvir and settlers.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency