Over 1/3 of Jordan's parliamentarians sign militant petition. Jordan will enlarge number of Waqf guards by 200.

Hael Daud, the Jordanian Minister for Sacred Properties and Islamic Holy Sites, has announced the Jordanian government's intent to enlarge the number of Waqf guards at the Al Aqsa mosque by 200, thus bringing their total number to 500.

Daud's announcement followed a letter signed by 52 parliamentarians – out of 150 – demanding that the government send Jordanian soldiers to guard Al Aqsa from “attacks by settlers.”

"We demand that the government, if it is not training the guards, send Jordanian military personnel along with civilian guards to prootect Al Aqsa and the sites holy to Islam,” the lawmakers said.

Daud said that the kingdom was doing all that it could to protect t he Arab and Islamic nature of Al Aqsa, and that among other things, it is responsible for 850 officials in Jerusalem, including the 300 Al Aqsa guards.

Regarding the demand to send Jordanian soldiers to guard Al Aqsa, the Jordanian minister said that the matter is connected to the more general policies of the kingdom and the armed forces, and to official and diplomatic channels.