Speaking to Israeli Radio on Friday, Guterres reportedly said it was "completely clear that the temple that was demolished by the Romans [in 70 AD] was a Jewish temple". In a statement, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, Jerusalem’s grand mufti, slammed the UN chief’s assertion. "The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the birthright of Muslims around the world; no one else has the right to tamper with it," he declared.
He went on to say the Al-Aqsa had a "special significance" for all Muslims, adding that "any attempt to prejudge its status is dangerous and condemned by all standards". "We must remember UNESCO’s decision designating the Al-Aqsa Mosque a purely Islamic heritage site and denying any Jewish right to any part of it," Hussein said, referring to a resolution adopted last year by the UN’s cultural and educational agency.
He went on: "We are calling for the implementation of legitimate, international resolutions rather than biased statements to please [Jewish] extremists and settlers." Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- in which Al-Aqsa is located -- during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community. International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories".