Jordan on Monday strongly denounced the Israeli occupation authority for summoning Mohamed al-Khatib, director general of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, as part of its arbitrary measures against Islamic Awqaf employees in the holy city.

This came in a statement released by the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs following a phone conversation between minister Abdul-Naser Abul-Basal and  Mohamed al-Khatib.

During the past few months, the Israeli occupation police detained and summoned many Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem Awqaf employees and officials as well as worshipers and handed them written orders banishing them from the Mosque for different periods of time.

According to the Jordanian Ministry’s statement, Abu Basal expressed his rejection of the police summons that had been issued against the Jerusalem Waqf director, affirming that he and all Islamic Awqaf employees work for Jordan and represent the Hashemite custodianship of the Aqsa Mosque.

The Jordanian minister also deplored the daily desecration of the Aqsa Mosque by Jewish settlers and Israeli officials, stressing the need for stopping all practices that provoke the Muslim nation’s feelings.

He also condemned Israel’s interference in the affairs of the Aqsa Mosque’s Bab al-Rahma prayer area as “a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” that affirm that the Mosque belongs solely to the Muslim nation.