Cairo — Qatar and the Arab Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem reaffirmed their rejection of Israeli policies aimed at altering the city’s legal and historical status during the committee’s tenth meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 164th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at ministerial level.
The committee, attended by Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, stressed that Israel has no sovereignty over Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites, reaffirming that East Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine. It rejected any unilateral measures or aggressions undermining Palestinian sovereignty and insisted on a two-state solution based on the June 4, 1967 borders in line with international law, the Arab Peace Initiative, and UN resolutions.
Committee members condemned Israeli settlement expansion, particularly the approval of the E1 settlement plan, describing it as an attempt to besiege the Old City and obstruct the creation of a viable Palestinian state. They also denounced efforts to change Jerusalem’s demographic, historical, and religious character, which contravene international law and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The meeting expressed strong opposition to escalating violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including incursions by extremist Israeli officials, attempts to impose temporal and spatial division, and restrictions on Muslim worshippers. The committee also condemned measures undermining Christian institutions, such as the freezing of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s bank accounts and rising attacks on churches, cemeteries, and clergy.
The committee reaffirmed the Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites and the authority of Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments to manage Al-Aqsa affairs. It also acknowledged the role of the Jerusalem Committee and the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency in safeguarding the city’s cultural and religious heritage.
Looking forward, the committee pledged to strengthen cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and to intensify diplomatic engagement with regional and international bodies. It tasked Arab League missions and ambassadors to build on recent international criticism of Israeli practices and to push for a unified global stance warning of the risks to regional and international peace.
The meeting was chaired by Jordan and included representatives from Iraq, Palestine, Algeria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar, and the Arab League Secretary-General.
