H. E. Mr. Nabil Fahmy receives Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs

Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Mr Nabil Fahmy received Mr Ashraf Al-Awar, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs of the State of Palestine, on 19 July at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Cairo.

Mr Al-Awar briefed the Secretary-General on the latest developments in occupied Jerusalem and the mounting hardships faced by its Palestinian residents as a result of the policies pursued by the Israeli occupation authorities to alter the city’s Arab and Palestinian character.

He reviewed the systematic measures aimed at displacing Palestinians from the city, including home demolitions, persistent restrictions on residents, settlement expansion, and the continued isolation of Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank.

The Secretary-General affirmed that Jerusalem occupies a unique place in the Arab and Islamic consciousness and remains at the heart of the Palestinian cause.

He noted that the city’s profound political, religious, and historical significance lies behind the persistent attempts of the Israeli occupation to erase its Palestinian identity and impose new realities on the ground.

Mr Fahmy stressed that strengthening the resilience and steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem remains a priority for the League of Arab States and a fundamental pillar of support for the Palestinian national project.

The Secretary-General reiterated that East Jerusalem is occupied Palestinian territory under international law and emphasised the need to confront all attempts to alter the city’s legal, historical, and demographic status.

He also warned against the policies pursued by Israel’s far-right government to impose a temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque and undermine the established historical and legal status quo at the holy sites.

Mr Fahmy reaffirmed that preserving and reinforcing the Palestinian and Arab presence in Jerusalem is both a political necessity and a moral responsibility, and an indispensable element in safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the future of their national cause.