Jordanian-Israeli ties, always under pressure, could be heading for trouble if the Knesset approves a controversial bill to divide Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, allowing Jews to pray in the Muslim compound. The bill was drafted by Israeli Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan and was rejected by Arab Knesset members, who warned that if passed, the law could lead to the eruption of a third intifada.
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Jordan Times reported that Amman had rejected a request by Israeli authorities to allow Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa mosque compound. It quoted Abdul Nasser Nasser, the Jordanian adviser for Islamic and Christian religious affairs in Jerusalem, as saying, "Jordanian officials have refused an Israeli request to allow Jewish prayer stretching from the ablution fountain to the main door to Al-Aqsa mosque."
Under the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, the former maintains a special supervisory role over Muslim and Christian holy sites in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. Although Jordan severed legal and administrative ties with the West Bank in 1988, it preserved the role of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in east Jerusalem. The Hashemite kings of Jordan had always claimed a special affinity to Jerusalem's holy sites starting from King Abdullah I, who was assassinated while visiting Al-Aqsa in 1951, to the late King Hussein. King Abdullah II had restated the role of the Hashemites in Jerusalem, and in March of this year, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed the king's mandate over the city's holy sites, giving him the legal means to defend them.
Since the signing of the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994, the latter had respected Amman's special role in east Jerusalem, but tension between the two rose a number of times over Israeli excavations near the walls and under the foundations of Al-Aqsa. Ultra-conservative and right-wing Israelis believe the ancient mosque, one of three holiest shrines for Muslims, stands over the remains of the Temple of Solomon. In fact, the main square where the mosque stands today, called the Holy Sanctuary by Muslims, is known to Israel as the Temple Mount.
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