Jerusalem24 – Israeli Channel Kan reported on Monday that Israeli Minister of Internal Security Omer Bar-Lev had agreed to a Jordanian request regarding security at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s comments on Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem sparked outraged reactions from regional and international actors.
The request involved adding 50 guards affiliated with the Jordanian Islamic Endowment, or Waqf. The request had been made prior to the tensions that occurred throughout the month of Ramadan, and was renewed last week.
Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List in the Israeli Knesset, stipulated that Israel must agree to the Jordanian request regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque as a condition of his party’s return to Bennett’s already fragile government coalition.
Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Fadi Al-Hidmi, told Jerusalem24 that the Palestinian Authority intends to keep the Jordanian Custodianship in Jerusalem. “We are in close coordination with the Jordanian side, to protect the Hashemite custody over the Islamic and Christian religious sites and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
He added, “We are monitoring closely with the international community and with the Jordanian side the developments on the ground. Because the Israeli strategy, the way we see it, is incremental, putting new facts on the ground and continuous change to the status quo of the religious sites in Jerusalem.”
The Jordanian television station Al-Mamlaka meanwhile reported that Jordanian Monarch King Abdullah II warned that “changing the status quo in Jerusalem will no doubt lead to an escalation of tensions and anger.” He made the remarks during a speech as he was receiving the Path to Peace award in New York on Monday.
