Awqaf Minister: ‘Defending Jerusalem Is a Duty’

Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Sheikh. Aharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Sheikh. Aharq Al-Awsat
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Awqaf Minister: ‘Defending Jerusalem Is a Duty’

Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Sheikh. Aharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Sheikh. Aharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Sheikh stressed that Saudi Arabia supports all that Egypt is doing in order to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.

“Jerusalem is for Arabs, and this blessed land is the land of Ibrahim and the prophets after him,” Ash-Sheikh said.

Jerusalem "is linked to our faith, and defending it is an obligatory duty," Saudi Awqaf Minister said during his participation in Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem.

“Scholars are message carriers, not policymakers, and they must work to achieve victory over Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque,” he noted, adding that “we must establish that doctrine to know who is the real enemy and liberate Jerusalem from the Zionist entity.”

He explained that scholars should follow the Holy Quran and the Prophet’s Sunna and be certain that “victory is coming inevitably ... The occupation, even if it lasted long, will be ended by the saviors.”

Ash-Sheikh said that he would like to thank God for giving him the opportunity to attend the international conference to discuss practical activities that will lead to the victory of Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause and the dignity of Arabs and Muslims.

He also thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for sponsoring this conference and supporting the Palestinian cause.



Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Israel closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Friday as the country attacked Iran, a military official said Friday.

The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military recommendations.

Around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israeli military rule.

With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank have grown in size, frequency and intensity.

The crackdown has also left tens of thousands unemployed, as they can no longer work the mostly menial jobs in Israel that paid higher wages.

Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran on Friday that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least two top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.