Occupied Jerusalem (UNA) – Deputy Governor of Jerusalem Abdullah Siam briefed Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi, who is currently visiting Palestine, on the situation in Jerusalem and the difficult conditions it is suffering from as a result of the racist violations and practices of the Israeli occupation. Siam received the Omani minister and his accompanying delegation at Al-Aqsa Mosque, accompanied by Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, Director General of Jerusalem Endowments, Dr. Ibrahim Nasser Al-Din, Assistant Director General, Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani, Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ghaleb Nasser Al-Din, Director of Endowment Properties, Dr. Ayash Ayash, Head of the Accounting Department, and Awad Al-Salaimeh, Head of the Holy Sites and Prisoners’ Files in the Fatah Movement in Jerusalem, who accompanied Minister Bin Alawi and his accompanying delegation on a tour of the mosque’s corridors and performed prayers there. Siam briefed the visiting minister on the situation in Jerusalem and the suffering of its people as a result of Israeli practices and repeated violations of the sanctity of holy sites, extremist settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, expanding settlements, and working to change the features of the holy city, in a blatant attempt to falsify history, distort facts, and create new facts aimed at blocking the establishment of an independent and interconnected Palestinian state, and separating the city of Jerusalem from its Palestinian, Arab, Islamic, and international surroundings. In turn, the Director General of the Islamic Endowments Department, Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, praised the Hashemite patronage of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, indicating the clear, firm, and consistent Jordanian position and the Arab-Islamic vision of the Israeli practices against Al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Khatib reviewed the work of the department affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, referring to the reconstruction projects being implemented in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the interest of Jordanian King Abdullah II in the first Qiblah of Muslims, and the persistent attempts he is making to prevent settlers from storming its courtyards, rejecting all practices they carry out and providing the necessary maintenance work. Sheikh Al-Khatib provided a detailed explanation of the history of Al-Aqsa Mosque, its importance and status among Muslims around the world, expressing his hope to increase visits by Arab and Islamic peoples to Al-Aqsa Mosque to emphasize its Islamic nature and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, which is a message to the Israelis that the Palestinians are not alone, but that the Arab and Islamic peoples stand behind them. In turn, the Omani Foreign Minister expressed his happiness to visit Palestine and perform prayers in the first of the two Qiblahs and the third of the two Holy Mosques, stressing the Sultanate of Oman's firm and steadfast support for the struggle of the Palestinian people, their right to self-determination, and the necessity of establishing their independent state, in implementation of international legitimacy resolutions, given the importance of this in putting an end to violence in the region. The Foreign Minister referred to the status of Jerusalem and the status of its people in the Arab world throughout history, and appreciated all the efforts made to defend and preserve the sanctity of this place. The Deputy Governor accompanied the Omani Minister and the accompanying delegation on a tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where they were received by the Secretary of the Church Key, Adeeb Joudeh, the Advisor to the Custody of the Holy Land from the Franciscan community, Father Ibrahim Faltas, the Head of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Greek Orthodox community, Bishop Isidoros, the Father Eftimius from the Greek Orthodox community, and a group of priests of the church, where he listened to a detailed explanation of the church and the Israeli obstacles that hinder pilgrims coming to it. (End) S.J.
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