British Muslim minister performs prayer at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Lord Tariq Ahmad, British minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), performed prayer on Thursday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

"An honor and privilege to spend time at the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning with Director of Jerusalem Waqf Department Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib," Lord Ahmad tweeted.

The Muslim minister stressed the UK's "unwavering support" to Jordanian custodianship over the holy sites in Jerusalem along with preserving the status quo at these sites.

The status quo allows Muslims to worship at the Al-Aqsa complex and followers of other religions to visit the site.

Lord Ahmad also visited the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday and had a tour inside the city.

On Wednesday, the British minister started his first official visit to the Palestinian territories since he became a minister.

He met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in West Jerusalem on Wednesday before he moved to Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank to meet Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara