Jordan condemns Israeli 'escalation' on Temple Mount
Amman furious after clashes broke out at the plaza following Housing Minister Uri Ariel's visit to the site.
AMMAN - Jordan on Monday condemned what it called Israeli "escalation" in the flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem, after a far-right Israeli minister visited the Al-Aqsa compound, warning it could cause further violence at the site.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel, deputy leader of the hardline national-religious Bayit Yehudi party, briefly visited the compound in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday.
On his Facebook page, Ariel wrote he had to cut the visit short after clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli police at the site.
Related stories:
- Jordanian MPs call to expel Israeli envoy over Temple Mount debate
- Jordan: Israeli 'provocations' at Temple Mount threaten peace
- Jordan reprimands Israel envoy over Temple Mount riots
"Jordan rejects Israeli escalation in Al-Aqsa as well as measures that allow radicals to violate Al-Aqsa under protection of police and occupation forces," Minister of Information Mohammad Momani said in a statement carried by state-run Petra news agency on Monday.
"These actions will lead to more violence and religious extremism in the region. Jordan warns Israel not to try to impose anything new related to Al-Aqsa."
Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa compound, the site is considered sacred to both faiths.
By law, Jews are not allowed to pray at the site and although non-Muslim visitors are permitted, such high-profile visits by rightwing government figures are very rare and tend to stoke tensions.
Under the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, the kingdom is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Last month, Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur warned Amman might review the peace deal after the Knesset debated allowing Jewish prayers on Temple Mount.
