Jordan warns against changing status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador over Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, while Jordan’s Parliament called for his expulsion amid tension at the Muslim holy site.
A diplomatic crisis is brewing between Jordan and Israel over the latter’s violation of a long-standing status quo at the Haram al-Sharif compound, or what Israelis call the Temple Mount, in East Jerusalem.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman, Amir Weissbrod, on Aug. 18 to protest recent Israeli incursions at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the compound. Jordan called for an immediate halt to Israeli violations, according to Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Zaid Lozi. It also warned against what it said were Israeli efforts to alter the status quo at the holy site.
A day later, Jordan’s Lower House of Parliament called on the government to expel the Israeli ambassador, withdraw the Jordanian ambassador in Tel Aviv and to reconsider the 1995 Wadi Araba peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, reported the Jordan Times, quoting the official news agency Petra. Lawmakers also rejected Israeli attempts at the “spatial and temporal division" of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram al-Sharif.
Incursions by Jewish extremists into the compound have recurred for months, despite Jordan’s warnings, but the crisis escalated when Israel allowed Jewish visitors to enter the compound Aug. 11 while thousands of Muslim worshippers were celebrating Eid al-Adha. The move resulted in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Dozens of Palestinians and two Israeli policemen were injured, according to news reports.
