Saudi Arabia condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem by extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's condemnation in the strongest terms of the Israeli Minister of National Security's storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the occupation police, and the expulsion of worshippers from it."

She continued: "The Kingdom reiterates its condemnation of the continued blatant Israeli attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque."

The Ministry also expressed the Kingdom's condemnation of the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of a clinic affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, denouncing the Israeli occupation forces' continued targeting of UN and relief organizations and their workers.

In the statement, Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of anything that would undermine the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites, emphasizing the need to protect UN and relief organizations and their staff.

It called on the international community to "put an end to the Israeli war machine, which disregards any humanitarian values, international laws, or norms, and to hold the Israeli occupation authorities accountable for all their violations."

She warned that "the international community's failure to deter such serious and ongoing violations will diminish the chances of achieving the desired peace, contribute to the decline in the credibility and legitimacy of international law, and negatively impact regional and international security and stability."

Earlier on Wednesday, Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem under heavy guard.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, an official at the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Department, who declined to be named, said that the far-right extremist Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque accompanied by more than 24 Israeli settlers.

Ben-Gvir's intention to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque today, just days before the Jewish Passover holiday, which begins on April 12 and lasts for 10 days, was not announced in advance.

This is the fifth time Ben-Gvir has stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and the eighth time since he assumed his position as minister at the end of 2022.

Ben-Gvir continues his raids on Al-Aqsa despite Arab, Islamic, and international criticism. The raids are carried out with the approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For his part, Moshe Gafni, a member of the Knesset for the religious-right United Torah Judaism party, a partner in the Israeli government, condemned the raid.

In a post on the X platform, he said: “Ascending the Temple Mount is an attack on the sanctity of the holiest place for the Jewish people, and on the status quo in which all the great leaders of Israel and the great rabbis of their generations opposed the ascent of Jews to this place.”

He added that the raid "does not demonstrate sovereignty; on the contrary, it causes unnecessary incitement in the Islamic world, and not just there."

Moshe Gafni called on Ben Gvir to stop the raids.

The vast majority of Jews refrain from storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in accordance with a fatwa issued by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

According to this 1967 ban, "Jews are prohibited from entering the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque), as it violates the law of purity. As long as the precise location of the Second Temple has not been determined, any Jew entering the area could inadvertently step on the Holy of Holies," which is forbidden according to Jewish law.

Rabbis say it is impermissible to ascend to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in its current state. They claim that Jews must await the return of the "awaited Messiah," and that those who ascend are merely seeking political gains.

However, extremist Jewish groups, calling for the construction of a temple on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque, are encouraging the incursions and calling for Jews to be allowed to pray in its courtyards.

In 2003, Israeli police unilaterally allowed Israeli extremists to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning and for a short period after the noon prayer every day except Friday and Saturday.

The Israeli authorities have imposed severe restrictions on the access of Palestinians from the West Bank to East Jerusalem since the outbreak of the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

Palestinians view these measures as part of Israel's attempts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.