Foreign ministers from eight Islamic countries on Tuesday condemned Israeli restrictions on access to places of worship in Jerusalem, according to a joint statement.

The ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar rejected what they described as curbs on the freedom of Muslims and Christians, including in occupied Jerusalem.

The statement specifically criticised measures preventing members of the Christian community, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and representatives of the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Holy Land, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

The ministers said the restrictions on entry for Muslim worshippers into Jerusalem were also unacceptable.

They condemned what they called any Israeli attempt to alter the legal and historical status of Christians at the site, and described the measures as a violation of religious freedoms.