Cairo — Qatar joined the Arab Ministerial Committee on Thursday in reaffirming that Israel holds no sovereignty over Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites, stressing that East Jerusalem remains the capital of the State of Palestine.
The declaration came during the committee’s tenth meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, attended by Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi. The session was held on the sidelines of the Arab League Council’s 164th ministerial session.
The committee rejected any attempt to undermine Palestinian sovereignty, warning against unilateral actions that alter the city’s legal, historical, or demographic status. It specifically condemned the recently approved E1 settlement plan, which aims to isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, calling it a direct threat to the two-state solution.
Members also denounced Israel’s measures targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including incursions by extremist officials, attempts to enforce temporal and spatial divisions, and restrictions on worshippers’ access. The committee voiced strong opposition to actions threatening Jerusalem’s Christian presence, such as freezing the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and escalating settler violence against churches, cemeteries, and clergy.
The statement reiterated support for UN Security Council resolutions 252, 267, 476, 478, and 2334, as well as UNESCO decisions affirming Al-Aqsa Mosque as an exclusively Muslim place of worship. The committee further emphasized the role of the Hashemite custodianship and Jordan’s Jerusalem Endowment Council in managing the holy sites.
The committee also called for intensified coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and urged Arab League missions to mobilize international pressure against Israeli violations. Member states pledged to push for a unified global stance warning of the risks posed to regional and global peace.
The meeting was chaired by Jordan and attended by representatives from Iraq, Qatar, Palestine, Algeria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Arab League Secretary-General.
