Justice for All calls for Emergency UN Sessions to protect Al-Aqsa, Jordanian Custodianship and Freedom of Worship

SUMMARY: Justice For All urgently calls on the United Nations to act as Israel moves to excavate, and ban the Islamic call to prayer, at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This blatantly provocative assault by the Israeli occupation on the third most sacred site in the Islamic world contravenes international norms and its own treaty with Jordan. It threatens both Islamic religious rights and any prospect for a just and peaceful settlement to a conflict that Tel Aviv has deliberately stoked with little meaningful action by the international community.

For immediate release

NEW YORK (June 8, 2026)

As Israel moves to ban the Muslim call to prayer (adhan) for the first time in 1,400 years and reportedly partner with the U.S. to strip Jordan of its custodianship over Al-Aqsa Mosque, Justice For All urgently calls on the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly to convene emergency sessions to uphold international law and protect religious freedom.  This latest assault comes exactly 59 years after the 1967 Naksa, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza and first seized control of the holy city, setting the stage for decades of systematic violations.

For decades, the historic status quo has designated Al-Aqsa as an exclusive Muslim place of worship under the sole administration of the Jordanian-controlled Islamic waqf. Israel has systematically violated this arrangement by imposing age-based access restrictions on Muslim worshippers, extending settler visiting hours, and enabling hundreds of armed settler incursions into the compound – often led by far-right lawmakers under police protection. Adding further danger, Israeli authorities have conducted underground excavations adjacent to and beneath the compound, activities that Muslim and Christian authorities warn are weakening the mosque’s foundations.

“These provocations assault the heart of the Islamic faith and incite over 2 billion Muslims worldwide, risking a fire that will consume any remaining prospect for regional peace,” stated Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, President of Justice For All.

Israel’s actions flagrantly contravene the 1994 Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty, the Fourth Geneva Convention, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property and multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, all of which affirm that Israel’s annexation and alteration of Jerusalem’s character are invalid and call for respect of the Holy Places. Despite repeated condemnations from the Vatican, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, the World Council of Churches, and other international religious bodies and organizations, Israel’s assault intensifies. A global consensus of Muslim scholars has affirmed that Al-Aqsa is an inalienable Islamic waqf that cannot be compromised or divided.

Imam Saffet Catovic, Justice For All’s Director of U.N. Operations, said: “Israel has been  bombing ancient churches and mosques in Gaza, it cannot be trusted as a guardian of religious freedom.”

Justice For All demands the U.N. affirm Jordanian waqf authority over Al-Aqsa, rescind the adhan ban, halt underground excavations, and end settler incursions and access restrictions.

Contact Information: Imam Saffet Catovic, saffet@justiceforall.org
Phone: 202-908-JUST   Website: https://www.justiceforall.org

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