His Excellency Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, Director General of the Department of Islamic Endowments and Affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, received this morning, in the presence of a number of members of the Endowments Council and directors and officials of the Islamic Endowments, a delegation of heads and members of European diplomatic missions in Jerusalem, within the confines of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Sheikh Al-Khatib, on behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, custodian and guardian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, welcomed the European delegation’s visit to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing the exclusive and historical role of the Islamic Endowments Department in applying and implementing the Hashemite custodianship for more than a century.
He reviewed the most prominent violations against the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, and the escalating difficult conditions the mosque is suffering from, in clear violation of the existing religious, historical and legal status of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Al-Khatib called on the delegation to unite everyone around the guardianship of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein and support it in preserving the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to put pressure on the occupation government to stop all violations against the mosque and return to the existing historical status of the mosque as an Islamic mosque for Muslims alone. With an area of 144 square meters, with all its prayer halls, courtyard, and underground and above-ground facilities, without prejudice to the tasks and powers of the Islamic Endowments Department.
For his part, Mr. Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, the representative of the European Union, thanked Sheikh Al-Khatib for receiving them and providing them with all the details about the conditions in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that this visit came from representatives of the European Union and a group of countries supporting members of the United Nations, all of which support the Palestinian right to Self-determination.
Mr. Burgsdorf said that the aim of this visit is first to show support and assistance to the Islamic Endowments Department and its role in implementing the Hashemite custodianship over the holy sites in the city of Jerusalem, and also to confirm the clear international position on preserving the city of Jerusalem to be the capital of the two states in the future and preserving and protecting the holy places, stressing that custodianship The Hashemite Kingdom is the only one capable of caring for and protecting the holy sites in the city of Jerusalem.