Bethlehem - Ma'an - All four countries bordering Israel, as well as both governments in the West Bank and Gaza, have condemned Sunday's crackdown in occupied East Jerusalem.

Jordan, which maintains close ties with Israel, registered concern just hours after some 30 Palestinians were injured and 20 arrested during clashes in the Old City on Sunday morning.

"Jordan... is extremely worried about what is taking place and warns against going ahead with this provocative behavior on the part of Israeli troops," said Nabil Sharif, the kingdom's minister of state for media and communications, in a statement.

"Any new provocative attempts by Israeli troops and Jewish extremists such as what happened today in the shrine's compound represent a flagrant violation of international law and conventions and set the stage for more tension and acts of violence," Sharif added, urging "an immediate end to such dangerous practices which threaten to derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region."

Clashes broke out on Sunday following the arrival of Israeli forces to the Al-Aqsa Mosque amid announcements from right-wing Jewish groups and individuals, including Israeli parliament members, vowing to "ascend" the compound area under armed guard.

Israel's other Arab ally, Egypt, on Monday expressed concern over the country's "actions in Jerusalem," according to a statement from its Foreign Ministry, which urged Israel to refrain from provocations that risk "negative repercussions" for the region.

Back in Palestine, officials representing both the Western-backed PLO and Palestinian Authority immediately expressed outrage, as did representatives in the Gaza Strip and Hamas' exiled leadership abroad.

"Jerusalem is a red line that Israel should not cross," said presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeina.

Meanwhile, Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator, on Sunday evening called on the US and Europe to step in and restrain what he termed Israeli provocations. "The international community must intervene... Otherwise we fear that violence may spiral out of control."

In a statement, the PLO official also urged Israel not to let extremists set the agenda. "These are not the actions of a partner for peace, but a coalition of political forces in Israel that have consistently opposed peace between Palestinians and Israelis."

From Gaza, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh rallied regional support in talks with the Qatari emir, Saudi foreign minister, Arab League secretary-general, and the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Hamas also organized rallies in support of the shrine, Islam's third holiest site, throughout the Gaza Strip. Speaking at one such rally, senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan urged attendees to "defend Al-Aqsa," while demonstrators chanted slogans calling for "resistance."

In Damascus, Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash'al described the latest incident as unprecedented. "It was the first time the Israeli army locked the gates of the mosque with chains, barring the call to prayer, breaking into its yards for long periods of time."

"Jerusalem belongs to its Arab inhabitants, Muslims and Christians," he added in remarks hours after tensions began to cool on Sunday night. "The future [of the city] will not be settled at the negotiating table, but on the ground of confrontation and resistance."

On Monday, Mash'al's Syrian hosts joined him in condemning Israel in even less uncertain terms.

"Storming Al-Aqsa by Israeli forces, desecrating it, besieging prayers and preventing them from entering it are only series in an Israeli scheme aiming at Judaizing Jerusalem and the demolition of Al-Aqsa Mosque," said a statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry. "What Israel is perpetrating is criminal acts against Muslims' sanctities and the Arab cultural and historic heritage."

Across its border with Lebanon, Christians and Muslims were equally incensed.

Speaking in Beirut on Sunday, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman slammed Israel for its "freedom-violating actions," specifically allowing its police to march into the compound. "This act is an example of radicalism at a time when the world is rejecting such actions and calling for intercultural and interreligious communication."

Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the "Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque," reported to a Beirut-based news agency the next day. [U]sing force against the faithful is a very critical issue, it is strongly condemned and rejected."

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas departed from Jordan to attend the Jerusalem International Forum in Morocco and meet with King Mohammad VI, who chairs the Organization of the Islamic Conference's Al-Quds (Jerusalem) committee.

Abbas was expected to call on members of the committee to take decisive action to demand that Israel halt all settlement construction and other provocative policies in East Jerusalem.

In its own statement, the OIC said it was calling an emergency meeting over the latest incidents in East Jerusalem to discuss taking "all means available... to put an end to Israeli aggressions at Al-Aqsa." It vowed to "protect, in cooperation with the international community, Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem."