On July 23, 2026, the foreign ministers of eight countries — Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — released a joint statement about continued mass actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA Türkiye). The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the same statement on its official website the same day (UAE MOFA).

Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the holiest sites in Islam, located in a walled compound in Jerusalem's Old City. The compound is also sacred in Judaism, where it is called the Temple Mount. Because the site is holy to multiple religions, it has long been a flashpoint for conflict.

This was the fifth joint statement these eight countries have issued about Al-Aqsa in 2026. The statements have come in bursts, each timed to periods of heightened tension around the site.

The campaign started on March 11, 2026, when the foreign ministers of the UAE, Türkiye, Egypt, and Jordan issued a joint statement on Al-Aqsa Mosque, published by both the UAE and Turkish foreign ministries (UAE MOFA; MFA Türkiye). That initial group of four expanded within weeks. On March 30, 2026, the eight foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE issued a joint statement about Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the broader compound) and the prevention of the Latin Patriarchate, a Catholic Church authority in Jerusalem (MFA Türkiye). A day later, on March 31, a separate joint statement by the foreign ministers of the UAE, Jordan, and Türkiye was published (UAE MOFA).

The eight-nation group met again on April 23, 2026, issuing a joint statement about Israeli police protection of the site (MFA Türkiye). That statement was also filed in a United Nations database called UNISPAL, which collects documents related to the Israel-Palestine conflict (UN UNISPAL).

On June 2, 2026, the eight foreign ministers issued another joint statement, this time about attacks by Israeli forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque, as published by both the UAE and Turkish foreign ministries (UAE MOFA; MFA Türkiye). The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later posted the June 2 statement on its official Facebook page on June 23 (Jordanian MFA Facebook). The June 2 statement also noted that the Al-Aqsa compound covers 144 dunams (about 36 acres), a detail that pins down the exact area the ministers are talking about (UAE MOFA).

Who Is in the Group and Why

The coalition grew from four nations on March 11 to eight by March 30, and that expansion is part of the story. The original four each have a direct stake in Jerusalem. Jordan holds a historic role as custodian of the city's holy sites. Egypt controls the southern border of Gaza. Türkiye maintains diplomatic ties with Israel. And the UAE normalized relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered deal that established formal ties between Israel and several Arab states. The expanded group adds Indonesia and Pakistan, which do not recognize Israel as a state, plus Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which have played major roles in regional mediation. Together, these countries have more diplomatic weight than any one of them has alone.

Filing the April 23 statement in the UN's UNISPAL system also carries meaning. UNISPAL is maintained by a UN office dedicated to Palestinian rights. The statement was labeled a "non-UN document," meaning it came from individual countries rather than from the UN itself. But placing it in the system ensures that UN delegations and researchers who follow the Israel-Palestine issue will see it. It is a way of raising visibility, not a legally binding step.

What the Statements Say — and How That Has Changed

The language in the statements has shifted over the year. The March 30 statement mentioned the Latin Patriarchate, meaning the countries were concerned not only about Muslim access to the site but also about Christian custodial rights there. The April 23 statement focused on Israeli police protection, framing the issue around law enforcement. The June 2 statement used stronger language, referring to "attacks by Israeli forces." The July 23 statement references "continued mass actions," pointing to ongoing activity at the compound that the ministers are watching with rising concern.

The broader pattern here is the pace itself. Five joint statements in under five months from a group spanning the Gulf, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia is unusual. Al-Aqsa has long produced strong words from individual governments, but rarely this kind of sustained, coordinated effort across so many countries at this frequency. The fact that each statement is published simultaneously by the UAE and Turkish foreign ministries — and in the case of the June 2 statement, by Jordan as well — suggests a deliberate strategy to reach Arab, Muslim-majority, and international audiences all at the same time.