Sep 18, 2015

Jordan’s King Abdullah is waging an unprecedented diplomatic offensive against Israel following a week of daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Jewish settlers under the protection of heavily armed Israeli police. On Sept. 14, the king said, “Any more provocations in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel, and Jordan will have no choice but to take action.” His statement came in the wake of what the government in Amman described as “provocations and attacks” following clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police on Sept. 13, which injured more than 20 Arabs and resulted in damage to a small mosque adjacent to Al-Aqsa.

But the incursions continued in spite of Jordan's protests, heightening tensions between Amman and Tel Aviv and threatening the 20-year-old peace treaty between the two countries. Under the peace accord, Israel recognized Jordan’s special role in administering and protecting Muslim holy sites in East Jerusalem and vowed not to change the status quo. King Abdullah, like his father, King Hussein, has been keen on presenting himself as a custodian of Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the view of most Jordanians, any attack on the mosque is an affront to the king and the role of the Hashemite family in East Jerusalem.

The latest Israeli provocations in what Israelis call the Temple Mount are seen as a breach of personal commitments that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made to the king last November in the presence of US Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu pledged in the Amman meeting not to change the status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to respect Jordan’s administrative role over Muslim holy places in East Jerusalem.

Reports say that Netanyahu has sent messages of reassurance to Amman since the king issued his warning. Despite this, the incursions continued until Sept. 17. Pundits in Jordan believe the recent attacks — which have been condemned by the Palestinian Authority and a number of Arab countries — are meant to prepare for a right-wing Israeli scheme to allow Jewish worshippers into the mosque. Non-Muslims are permitted to visit the compound but not to enter the mosque itself.

Former Jordanian Prime Minister Taher al-Masri told Al-Monitor that what is happening now in Jerusalem is part of a public Israeli policy to “Judaize the city and empty it of its Arab residents.” Masri said Israel is making good use of the fact that the Arabs are busy with their own problems and the Palestinian problem is no longer a priority. “The endgame is to take over Al-Aqsa completely and turn it into a Jewish temple as many Israeli extremists are saying,” he said.