The Jordanian Foreign Ministry called on Israel to “respect the sanctity” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and end “all provocations and violations there.”
According to Jordan’s Petra News Agency, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Deifallah al-Fayez conveyed the message of protest through diplomatic channels, condemning what it called “Israeli violations” on the Temple Mount, by having allowed Jews “to storm the mosque” on the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av last week.
Hundreds of Jews visited the Temple Mount to mark the fast day commemorating the destruction of the two holy temples that once stood on the site.
Al-Fayez also said that the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, is “a place of worship for Muslims only.” He called on the international community to end these so-called “Israeli violations.”
The Temple Mount has been under the day-to-day control of the Muslim Waqf religious authorities and overseen by the Jordanian government since the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel retaining security control of Judaism’s holiest site. The Waqf forbids Jews from praying on the site, which is a source of ongoing controversy between Israel and the Palestinians, and between Israel and Jordan.
