AMMAN: Jordan issued a statement on Thursday condemning Israel’s lack of action against Jewish extremists who regularly attempt to pray on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surrounding compound, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
The statement came after a week of tension in Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover holiday. A significant number of Israelis were allowed to enter Al-Haram Al-Sharif under police protection, and some paid an unscheduled visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque, sparking a confrontation.
Arafat Amro, head of the Islamic Museum of Archaeology at Al-Aqsa Mosque, told Arab News that the head of the Jerusalem police was among those who entered the mosque without obtaining permission from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf — the religious trust that manages the Islamic sites in Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Amro claimed that when he confronted the group and asked if they had arranged their visit with the Waqf, “the head of the police threatened me, saying that I would never be able to enter the mosque again.”
After Amro left the mosque on Wednesday, he was arrested by Israeli police and accused of interfering with the work of the police in Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which Israelis call the Temple Mount. Amro claims he was threatened and harassed during his interrogation. He was later barred from visiting the mosque for 15 days.
“I was told that if I came to Al-Aqsa Mosque, I would have to pay a fine of 10,000 shekels ($3,400). I replied that I am an employee of the Jordanian government.”
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, Sufian Qudah, said, “Such irresponsible acts provoke millions of Muslims around the world.”
Qudah added that the government had sent a letter of objection to Israel through diplomatic channels regarding ongoing violations in Jerusalem.
He went on to say that Israel’s “denounced and rejected” measures in Jerusalem are an attempt to change the status quo in the city, and reiterated that the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf is the sole caretaker of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the only organization with the authority to grant entry to the complex.
Qudah emphasized that Israel, as an occupying power, must honor its obligations under international law, which considers East Jerusalem an occupied territory.
Jordan and Israel have been at loggerheads for some time. King Abdullah II and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have not spoken to each other since October 2017, when an Israeli security guard killed two Jordanians in the Israeli embassy in Amman.
Jordan condemns Israeli trespassing at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jordan condemns Israeli trespassing at Al-Aqsa Mosque
- A significant number of Israelis allowed to enter Al-Haram Al-Sharif under police protection
Israeli approval of West Bank land registration draws outrage
- Israel’s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank, drawing condemnation
JERUSALEM: Israel’s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank, drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who labelled it a “mega land grab” that would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the measure would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
But Egypt, Qatar and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law.
In a statement, the Egyptian government called it a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the “decision to convert West Bank lands into so-called ‘state property’,” saying it would “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights.”
The Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the “de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.”
Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called Sunday’s measure a “mega land grab.”
According to public broadcaster Kan, land registration will be reopened in the West Bank for the first time since 1967 — when Israel captured the territory in the Middle East war.
The Israeli media reported that the process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60 percent of West Bank territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control.
Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel’s religious right want to take over the land.
Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords in place since the 1990s.
Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority’s control.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
Around three million Palestinians live in the territory.
