JERUSALEM, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it summoned Chilean ambassador after Chilean President Sebastian Pinera visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem accompanied by Palestinian officials.
Pinera is in the region for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The president started his trip on Tuesday with a tour at the Western Wall in East Jerusalem's Old City, where he met the chief rabbi of the site. He then continued to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, located just above the Western Wall, accompanied by Palestinian officials, including the Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Fadi al-Hidmi.
His itinerary also includes a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the visit to the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, violated an agreement reached between the two countries ahead of his visit.
The Chilean ambassador to Israel and senior officials at Pinera's delegation were summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, according to the statement. The move was directed by Israel's Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz.
"The foreign minister views any infringement of Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount as serious and a violation of clear procedures and agreements," the ministry said.
Pinera is scheduled to meet later on Wednesday with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Chile is home for the largest community of exiled Palestinians outside the Middle East.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is holy for both Muslims, who revere it as "the Noble Sanctuary," and to Jews, who know it as "the Temple Mount."
The flashpoint site is located in East Jerusalem. Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it shortly later, claiming it part of its "indivisible eternal capital," in a move criticized by the international community.
In December 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump shifted long-held U.S. foreign policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, sparking a wave of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
