Jordan warns against altering Al Aqsa status quo after Israel transgressions

AMMAN — Jordan on Tuesday slammed statements by an Israeli minister calling for changing the status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, voicing its utter rejection of such remarks, and warning against any attempts that aim to tamper with the holy site’s legal and historical status.

According to media reports, Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan voiced support on Tuesday for altering arrangements at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif to allow Jews to pray at the Muslim site.

The Israeli minister’s remarks followed confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian worshippers two days earlier as the overlapping of Muslim’s Eid Al Adha and a Jewish holiday led to tensions at the holy site, in which dozens of Palestinians and four Israelis were wounded.

In a Foreign Ministry statement, Spokesperson Sufian Qudah reiterated that Israel, as an occupying power, must abide by its obligations under international and humanitarian law and fully respect Jerusalem's status quo, calling on the Israeli authorities to immediately halt provocative actions.

A formal protest condemning the statements was delivered to Israel through diplomatic channels, according to Qudah.

On Sunday, the Kingdom denounced the continuous Israeli violations against Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, namely the storming of the mosque by occupation forces and extremists on the first day of Eid Al Adha and the assaults against a number of Muslim worshippers and Jerusalem Awqaf staff inside Al Haram.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in a Tweet, said that the practices of the occupation and attempts to change the status quo in Jerusalem stoke tensions, threatening the global safety and security.

Qudah expressed the Kingdom’s rejection of such violations and “irresponsible provocative actions” during the first day of Eid Al Adha, holding Israel responsible for such practices and calling for an immediate halt to such acts.

Israeli forces fired sound grenades at Palestinians in Al Aqsa mosque compound on Sunday, with the Red Crescent reporting 61 Palestinians wounded, 15 of whom were taken to hospitals, AFP said.

Sunday marked the start of Eid Al Adha holiday and thousands of Palestinians prayed at Al Aqsa Mosque.

It coincided with the Jewish Tisha B’av holiday, which typically sees an increase in visits by Jewish religious nationalists to the holy site, according to AFP.

President of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union and Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, in a Tweet, on Monday said that Israel’s illegal practices prove its “extremism”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Meanwhile, the head of the Lower House Palestine Committee, MP Yahya Saud, condemned the Israeli violations committed on Sunday against the worshippers, calling on the international community to uphold its responsibility and protect Palestinian worshippers.

The professional unions also said that the Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian worshippers during performing the prayer of Eid Al Adha, which resulted in dozens of causalities, reaffirms Israel does not respect religious rituals.

Some 1,300 Jews visited Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif on Sunday, according to the Jordan-affiliated Jerusalem Awqaf, which administers the holy compound under the Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian shrines.