Jordan is organizing an emergency foreign ministers meeting to address what it characterizes as an imminent threat to Muslim control of the al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock compound in Jerusalem. The gathering, scheduled for Wednesday, will include representatives from Arab League countries as well as Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi stated that tampering with the existing status quo arrangements could trigger religious conflict that extends beyond Palestine and Jordan to the broader Muslim world.
The immediate catalyst for the meeting stems from an incident on 23 July when more than 2,000 Israelis, primarily from the religious right and including government officials, entered the compound and performed prayers and rituals throughout the area. Jordanian authorities described this as the worst violation of the status quo in modern history. Under agreements overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy since 1967, only Muslims are permitted to pray at the site, though Jewish visitors are allowed access. A separate arrangement reserves the Western Wall, a structure that survived the destruction of the Second Temple, for Jewish prayer.
Jordan has also expressed concern about recruitment efforts for a specialized Temple Mount police unit and anticipates heightened tensions during major Jewish holidays in September, coinciding with an intense Israeli election campaign. The status quo arrangements date back over a century and were reaffirmed in the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty. Previous violations of these understandings, including a 2000 visit by Israeli political leader Ariel Sharon, have sparked significant violence.
Beyond the religious site disputes, Jordan faces broader concerns about Israeli policies in the West Bank and water rights. Officials have warned against any attempted mass deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank, characterizing such action as a red line. Additionally, Israel has reduced water supplies to Jordan, providing only 50 million cubic meters annually instead of the 100 million agreed under a 2021 arrangement. These tensions have contributed to growing anti-normalization sentiment within Jordan, with the Islamist opposition party making significant electoral gains in recent contests.
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