Cairo: Arab foreign ministers pledged to never abandon Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest in Islam, during an emergency meeting held in Cairo at the Arab League headquarters on Thursday.

The officials were meeting to discuss ways of countering Israel’s escalation of tensions in Occupied Jerusalem.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Abu Al Gheit said, “If Al Aqsa calls out to us, we will all answer without delay.”

“Whoever thinks that the Al Aqsa Mosque only concerns Palestine is wrong, as it represents a symbol of our Arab and Islamic identity,” he added.

“Our message is clear. Jerusalem is a red line that we will not allow to be crossed, and we will not accept Israel’s efforts to change the status quo in Jerusalem,” he further added, while stressing that Occupied East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian lands that were occupied in 1967.

The secretary general added that the Israeli regime was working hard to impose new historical and political facts on the ground to undermine the Palestinian and Muslim identity of the holy city.

He also stressed that it was up to the international community to ensure that Israel’s actions would not be repeated in the future.