Jordan has announced plans to convene an emergency gathering of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic nations to address concerns over access to a major religious site in Jerusalem. Jordanian officials characterize recent developments as presenting an immediate danger to the status quo governing the compound containing al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, with potential implications for regional stability.
The Jordanian government points to a July 23 incident in which over 2,000 Israeli citizens, including settlers and government officials, entered the area known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Jordanian officials describe this as representing the most significant violation of an existing agreement in recent history. A recruitment initiative aimed at assembling a specialized police unit has also drawn concern from Amman. The longstanding arrangement, which Jordan maintains custodial oversight of, permits Muslim prayer exclusively at the site, while designating the Western Wall for Jewish worship.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi indicated that the emergency session would include participants from Arab League countries along with Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. He characterized the situation as a pressing threat requiring international attention and suggested that continued Israeli actions could provoke wider religious tensions extending beyond the immediate region. Safadi also raised concerns about potential Palestinian displacement from the West Bank, describing such an outcome as unacceptable to Jordan.
The Hashemite custodianship of the compound dates to the aftermath of 1967 and was reaffirmed through the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement. Previous provocative visits to the site have historically sparked significant violence. Additionally, disputes over water-sharing arrangements and other tensions have contributed to domestic political pressures within Jordan, with Islamist political movements gaining increased parliamentary representation in recent years.
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