News - Middle East: UN Security Council members have underscored the need to maintain a decades-old status quo at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds after the recent Israeli desecration of the holy site.

The 15-member council discussed the Israeli storming following a request by the United Arab Emirates and China, with the Palestinian envoy and the occupying regime’s representative trading barbs over the sacrilegious move at the world body.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said Israel was acting "with absolute contempt," and pushed for the Security Council to take action against the illegal entity, stressing, "What red line does Israel need to cross for the Security Council to finally say, enough is enough?”

Senior UN political affairs official, Khaled Khiari, told the 15-member council it was the first visit to the site by an Israeli cabinet minister since 2017.

"While the visit was not accompanied or followed by violence, it is seen as particularly inflammatory given Mr. Ben-Gvir's past advocacy for changes to the status quo," Khiari said.

Robert Wood, the US deputy UN ambassador, told the council that Washington is "concerned by any unilateral acts that exacerbate tensions,” and called for the “preservation of the status quo with relation to the holy places.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged the two sides to refrain from steps that could escalate tensions in and around the holy sites across the occupied Palestinian territories.

After the two-hour session wrapped up, Mansour voiced satisfaction at what he called the "unanimity (of the Council) to defend the status quo," adding he did not expect further concrete action from the world body.

Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the UN, called the session "absurd" and said there was "absolutely no reason" for the meeting to be held.

Tuesday's visit by the Israeli minister has sparked a wave of international condemnation, including from the United States, a longstanding ally of the occupying regime, as well as Palestinian authorities and the Muslim world.

Source: Press TV