Al-Azhar Urges International Organizations to Maintain Legal Status of Jerusalem

Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb speaks during an inter-religious meeting with Pope Francis at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb speaks during an inter-religious meeting with Pope Francis at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
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Al-Azhar Urges International Organizations to Maintain Legal Status of Jerusalem

Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb speaks during an inter-religious meeting with Pope Francis at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb speaks during an inter-religious meeting with Pope Francis at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Al-Azhar called on all international bodies and organizations to “preserve the legal status of the city of Jerusalem, to affirm its identity and to intervene immediately to stop the attacks by the Israelis.”

In a statement released on Sunday, Al-Azhar warned of continued Israeli plots to Judaize Jerusalem and change its Arab identity, and called on the international community to take immediate action to stop Israeli assaults against the city and its sacred places.

Al-Azhar also condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of Israeli settlers under Israeli police protection on Sunday. The Jewish settlers broke into the holy site from Bab El-Maghareba gate and performed religious rituals.

In March, Al-Azhar condemned the repression by the Israeli occupation forces of peaceful demonstrations and marches organized by the Palestinian people on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of “Land Day” and the “Marches of Return.”

Al-Azhar then stressed its full support for the Palestinian people “in their legitimate struggle for the restoration of their occupied land and their valiant uprising against the policy of land confiscation and Judaization pursued by the occupation forces,” affirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.



Syria’s Sharaa Says New Authorities Can't Satisfy Everyone

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech in Damascus on March 29, 2025. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech in Damascus on March 29, 2025. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Syria’s Sharaa Says New Authorities Can't Satisfy Everyone

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech in Damascus on March 29, 2025. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech in Damascus on March 29, 2025. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Monday a new transitional government would aim for consensus in rebuilding the war-torn country but acknowledged it would be unable to satisfy everyone.

The transitional 23-member cabinet -- without a prime minister -- was announced Saturday, more than three months after Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led an offensive that toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad.

The autonomous Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria has rejected the government's legitimacy, saying it "does not reflect the country's diversity".

Sharaa said the new government's goal was rebuilding the country but warned that "will not be able to satisfy everyone".

"Any steps we take will not reach consensus -- this is normal -- but we must reach a consensus" as much as possible, he told a gathering at the presidential palace broadcast on Syrian television after prayers for the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday.

Authorities are seeking to reunite and rebuild the country and its institutions after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Sharaa said the ministers were chosen for their competence and expertise, "without particular ideological or political orientations".