Jordan announced plans to hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from Arab League countries alongside Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan to address escalating tensions at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock compound. Jordanian officials said the situation represents an “imminent” threat to a status quo arrangement that has governed the site for over a century.
The concern centers on what Jordan characterizes as repeated violations by Israeli religious groups and government-backed incursions at the compound. On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis participated in what Jordanian officials described as the worst violation in modern history, with participants praying and performing rituals throughout the area. Jordan has also expressed alarm at recruitment efforts for a specialized Temple Mount police unit composed of religious Jews. The site holds profound religious significance for both Islam and Judaism—Muslims consider it home to al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, while Jews regard it as the Temple Mount, the location of two ancient temples. Under the longstanding agreement overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, only Muslims are permitted to pray at the compound, while the Western Wall nearby is reserved for Jewish prayer.
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned that tampering with the existing arrangement could “trigger a religious conflict that will reverberate beyond Palestine and Jordan into the whole Muslim world.” He noted concerns that major Jewish holidays in September, coinciding with Israeli elections, could bring additional challenges to the traditional Jordanian custodianship. The status quo framework was reaffirmed following the 1967 war and incorporated into the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty.
Beyond the immediate Jerusalem tensions, Jordan faces broader concerns about Israeli actions in the West Bank and reported reductions in water supplies. Israel reduced annual water sharing from 100 million cubic metres to the original 50 million cubic metres specified in the 1994 treaty, citing Jordanian government criticism regarding Palestinian casualties in the Gaza conflict. These developments have intensified domestic political pressure on the Jordanian monarchy, with rising anti-normalization sentiment and growing support for Islamist political movements opposed to close Israeli relations.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI