Arab countries strongly condemned on Saturday the circulation of an AI-generated video by extremist Israeli platforms showing the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and the construction of the so-called Third Temple in their place.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the video, “Next Year in Jerusalem,” circulating on extremist Hebrew platforms. It shows the Al-Aqsa Mosque being bombed and replaced by a so-called Third Temple.
The ministry called the video “a systematic provocation aimed at escalating attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.”
It said Israel’s far-right leadership feels “emboldened to advance its Judaization and colonial agenda amid weak international reactions to its ongoing genocidal crimes, particularly in Gaza.”
The ministry urged the international community and UN bodies to treat the incitement seriously and pursue legal measures under international law to halt Israel’s unilateral actions against Palestinians.
In a statement reported by the official news agency Petra, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry denounced the “racist and extremist incitement” by Israeli settler organizations.
It pointed out that the calls “coincide with the escalation of incursions and the permission granted to extremists to carry out provocative acts under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.”
The ministry reaffirmed that “Al-Aqsa Mosque in its entirety, with its full area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship solely for Muslims.”
It added that “the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is the legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction over the management of the Al-Haram al-Sharif and the regulation of entry to it.”
Qatar’s echoed the condemnation, and said the video and plans reflects a “dangerous provocation that could significantly escalate violence in the region, especially amid the ongoing war on the Gaza.”
The Foreign Ministry affirmed “Qatar’s unequivocal rejection of any attempt to alter the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, or its holy sites.”
It also emphasized “the urgent need for the international community to act decisively to halt such threats, hold the occupying power accountable, and ensure the protection of these sacred sites in accordance with international law.”
While Israeli officials said the status quo at Al-Aqsa is being maintained, the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem has rejected that claim.
The status quo refers to the pre-1967 arrangement under which the waqf oversees the site and only Muslims are allowed to pray at that location.
The waqf said Monday that repeated violations of the site’s sanctity mark “an unprecedented breach of its historical, religious, and legal status as a Muslim site reserved solely for Muslim worship.”
Far-right groups had earlier called for mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound during the Jewish Passover holiday, which began last Sunday.
Since 2003, Israeli authorities have allowed settlers into the compound nearly every day.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and unilaterally annexed the city in 1980, a move not recognized by the international community.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, believing it was the location of two ancient Jewish temples.