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The ministerial meeting hosted by Jordan brought together foreign ministers from Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Palestine, Egypt and Morocco along with representatives from Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye and Malaysia. According to the joint declaration issued after the gathering, participants condemned Israeli policies and measures aimed at altering the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem and its legal and demographic status, deeming them null and void under international law. The ministers reaffirmed that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory with no Israeli sovereignty over it and reiterated support for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital along the 1967 lines.
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, said at a joint press conference after the meeting that the gathering demonstrated a unified position against illegal Israeli policies in Jerusalem and a commitment to confronting them through coordinated efforts. The declaration emphasized the importance of the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites, praising its role in safeguarding their Arab, Islamic and Christian identity and preserving the historical and legal status quo. Participants further denounced violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including incursions by extremist settlers and officials as well as restrictions on worshippers and attempts to impose temporal and spatial divisions.
In a significant outcome, the ministers agreed to establish a permanent joint mechanism to document Israeli violations in Jerusalem and at its holy sites while creating a dedicated media platform to highlight them before international organizations and global public opinion. The declaration called for intensified diplomatic action at the United Nations and other forums to compel Israel to respect its obligations as the occupying power and halt all unilateral measures. Such steps build on a pattern of regional coordination that has intensified in response to persistent tensions around the city’s sacred places.
A similar international conference convened in Cairo on July 18, 2026 by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also stressed the need to preserve the historic and legal status quo at holy sites and protect freedom of worship. That gathering, according to a UN press statement, featured interventions from Egyptian officials and Palestinian representatives who rejected settlement expansion, annexation and any changes to Jerusalem’s legal, historical or demographic character. Muslim and Christian leaders at the Cairo conference warned that restrictions on access and threats to holy sites risk deepening divisions and undermining the city’s legacy of coexistence.
The Amman declaration reiterated support for the two-state solution as the sole path to a just and lasting peace based on international law, relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. Ministers emphasized that realization of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital would contribute to regional stability and security for all parties. They pledged to mobilize broader international response to the situation through upcoming engagements including a joint Arab-Islamic meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty noted during the Amman press conference that broad consensus existed on transitioning from condemnation to tangible measures aimed at preserving the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of East Jerusalem. The participants also expressed support for the work of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department as the sole legitimate authority overseeing the holy sites. This coordinated Arab-Islamic approach underscores the centrality of Jerusalem to any resolution of the broader Palestinian issue.
