The regime in Jordan is facing increasing domestic pressure over its involvement in the international war against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, on the one hand, and on Israel’s repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on the other. The Islamist movement in the kingdom had criticized Jordan’s decision to join the United States and other Arab and Western countries in the war to destroy IS. The Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition group in the country, declared through its political arm the Islamic Action Front (IAF) in September that "this was not our war," as did other moderate Islamist figures.

But the biggest denunciation came from Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, the spiritual leader of the Salafist jihadist movement in Jordan. A few days after condemning Jordan’s participation in the international coalition, he was arrested by the authorities for using the Internet to promote radical views. He had published an article on Oct. 27 calling on IS and Jabhat al-Nusra “to unite against the US-led alliance.”

The internal debate over the risks entailed in joining the fight against IS coincided with repeated incursions by Jewish extremists at Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. Under the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, signed in 1994, Jordan maintains a special role as custodian of the holy Muslim sites in East Jerusalem. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recognized that role as well last year. For decades, the Hashemite kings of Jordan were seen as protectors of Al-Aqsa Mosque. With repeated incursions, Jordan issued warnings to Israel against violations of the peace treaty and changing the status of the mosque. Jewish extremists want to have access to the Muslim shrine, which they call the Temple Mount, and some have openly called for demolishing it to build a Jewish temple in its place.

Diplomatic contacts between Jordan and Israel have failed to defuse tensions, as both countries marked the 20th anniversary of the bilateral treaty. Despite assurances by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the status of the mosque will not change and news of a secret meeting between him and King Abdullah in Amman on Nov. 1, Jordan withdrew its ambassador to Tel Aviv in protest and threatened to take the case to the UN Security Council.