Jerusalem –
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said he was ready to fight if Israel dared to change the status of a number of holy sites in Jerusalem, including Masjid Al-Aqsa. The statement was made by King Abdullah in response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to power.
Reported by CNN, on Friday (30/12/2022), in an exclusive interview, King Abdullah II revealed that there is concern in Jordan for people in Israel who is trying to push for a change in Jordan’s status as trustee or custodian of some Muslim and Christian holy sites in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, warns his patience is limited.
“If people want to conflict with us, we’re quite prepared,” he said.
“I’ve always believed that, we see the glass is half full, but we have a certain redline… And if people want to push that redline, then we’ll deal with that,” she said.
Netanyahu’s government is being billed as the most far-right government in Israel’s history. One of the most controversial figures in Israel’s next government is Itamar Ben Gvir, who will become minister of national security and take over control of the police, including law enforcement in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Ben Gvir has a long history of inciting violence against Palestinians and Arabs. He was convicted of inciting anti-Arab racism and supporting terrorism and publicly calling for a change in the status quo at holy sites.
For information, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been guardian of the holy places of Jerusalem since 1924 and considers itself the guarantor of Muslim and Christian religious rights in the city.
In the 1967 war, Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan. However, the two signed a peace treaty in 1994 in which Israel formally recognized Amman’s special place in the city’s holy sites.
These sacred sites include the complex known to Muslims as Haram Al Sharif, called the Temple Mount by Jews. The site includes Masjid Al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam. This area is also the holiest place in Judaism. Right-wing Israeli politicians often argue that Jews should also have the right to pray there.
However, since then the two have frequently clashed, with Jordan often accusing Israel of violating the agreement because it regulates citizens’ worship activities in Jerusalem, which is a holy city for Muslims, Christians and Jews.
See also the video ‘5 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers’:
(is/imk)
