The Consultative Ministerial Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq held yesterday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, affirmed the centrality and priority of the Palestinian cause, condemned illegal Israeli practices, and stressed respect for the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. It said in its final statement that ‘the ministers emphasized the centrality and priority of the Palestinian cause, and condemned illegal Israeli practices that undermine the two-state solution, and the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, which embodies the independent and sovereign Palestinian state with its capital East Jerusalem on the borders of June 4, 1967, and in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.’ The ministers also ‘condemned the Israeli attacks on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and the violation of the sanctity of the holy places, and stressed the need to respect the historical and legal status quo existing therein, and that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif is a pure place of worship for Muslims,’ stressing that the administration of the Jerusalem Endowments and Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, which is under Jordanian custodianship, have the ‘exclusive jurisdiction to manage the affairs of the mosque and regulate access to it.’

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency (WAFA)