Jordan-Morocco protest over Jerusalem status

In late July 2026, Jordan’s deputy prime minister for foreign affairs, Ayem al‑Safadi, and Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bouriṭa, held a phone call to denounce recent Israeli actions in Jerusalem. They condemned incursions by Israeli Knesset members and extremist groups into the Al‑Aqsa compound, reaffirmed the Hashemite custodianship of the city’s Islamic and Christian sites, and warned that any attempt to alter Jerusalem’s historic and legal status would breach international law.

A few weeks later, in early August 2026, Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Al‑Safadi expanded the warning at an Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in Amman. He accused Israel of targeting Jerusalem’s identity and history through settlement expansion, land confiscation, and restrictions on worship at Al‑Aqsa and other holy sites, warning that such moves could spark a broader religious conflict. Al‑Safadi called for coordinated international pressure on Israel and reiterated that a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is the only path to a just and lasting peace.

Following these warnings, foreign ministers from various Arab and Muslim nations met in Jordan on August 5 and 6. The group issued a series of condemnations regarding Israel, identifying Israeli actions as the “primary source of violence and instability in the Middle East.” However, critics noted that the official statements omitted several key regional issues, such as the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, the dismantling of Palestinian terrorist groups, and the regional influence of Iran and its affiliates, including Hezbollah and the Houthis.