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Jordan’s King Abdullah II has warned Israel that he is ready for conflict if the status of Jerusalem’s holy sites changes, CNN reported.
He gave the interview as Israel prepares for what is likely to be the most right-wing government in its history.
The king said he had “red lines” regarding Jerusalem.
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming government is expected to include controversial figures once considered the fringes of Israeli politics. It also raised concerns about the potential for an escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence and about the future of Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors and Western allies.
This year has already been the deadliest for Palestinians and Israelis in nearly two decades, raising the specter of a new Palestinian uprising against Israel.
“We have to worry about the next intifada (uprising),” the king said. “And if that happens, it’s a complete breakdown of law and order that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will benefit from. I think there is great concern from all of us in the region, including those in Israel who are on our side on this question to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war, but signed a peace treaty with it in 1994 that formally recognized Amman’s special role in the city’s holy sites. But the two countries have had uneasy relations ever since. Jordan regularly accuses Israel of violating the agreement that gives it control over the sites and bans non-Muslims from praying there.
The Hashemite Monarchy of Jordan has been the guardian of the holy places in Jerusalem since 1924, the guarantor of the religious rights of Muslims and Christians in the city.
Tensions are highest around the compound known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, which is called the Temple Mount by Jews. The site includes the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. The area is also the holiest site in Judaism. Politicians on the Israeli right often argue that Jews should also have the right to pray there.
One of the most controversial figures in Israel’s incoming government is Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to become national security minister and take 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 has been convicted of inciting anti-Arab racism and supporting terrorism and has openly called for a change to the status quo at the holy sites.
“I don’t think these people are only under a Jordanian microscope. They are under an international microscope,” the king said when asked about Ben Gvir’s views. “I have to believe that there are many people in Israel as well who are as concerned as we are.”
He declined to say how Jordan would respond to changes to the status of the holy sites.
“At the end of the day, the Israeli people have the right to choose who they want to lead them. We will work with anyone and everyone as long as we can bring people together,” he said.
Of Jordan’s population of about 10 million, more than half are of Palestinian descent, including more than two million Palestinian refugees.
Jordan was the second Arab nation to normalize relations with Israel after Egypt.
But after a decades-long wait, Israel scored a major diplomatic victory in 2020, gaining recognition from four more Arab states, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
A number of countries have announced in recent years that they will move their embassies in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This the Islamic world took as a challenge.
Illustration: King Abdullah I Mosque Dome in Amman, Jordan Under Blue Sky. Photo by heba alwahsh:
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