Al-Jazeera.com :
Israel’s prime minister has assured Jordan’s king over the phone that he would not yield to increasing demands by Jewish hardliners to allow Jews to pray at a Muslim-run holy site in Jerusalem.
The phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II on Thursday came a day after Jewish settlers, protected by more than 300 Israeli security forces, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque, triggering clashes between Israeli riot police and Palestinians worshippers.
The escalation prompted Jordan, which is the custodian of the compound housing the mosque, to recall its ambassador to Israel in protest against what it called “unacceptable” Israeli police assault on the sacred site.
“I explained to him that we’re keeping the status quo on the Temple Mount and that this includes Jordan’s traditional role there,” Netanyahu said, using Israel’s name for the compound.
Near-daily clashes between the stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli riot police in the occupied East Jerusalem. Some of the attacks have turned deadly in recent weeks.
The unrest was triggered by Muslim fears of Jewish encroachment at the sacred site, a hilltop plateau known to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Since Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish worshippers have been allowed to visit – but not pray – at the site.
Abdullah, the head of one of only two Arab countries at peace with Israel, stressed Jordan’s rejection of “any measures harming the al-Aqsa Mosque and its sanctity”, according to a statement issued by the palace in Amman.
Israel’s prime minister has assured Jordan’s king over the phone that he would not yield to increasing demands by Jewish hardliners to allow Jews to pray at a Muslim-run holy site in Jerusalem.
The phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II on Thursday came a day after Jewish settlers, protected by more than 300 Israeli security forces, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque, triggering clashes between Israeli riot police and Palestinians worshippers.
The escalation prompted Jordan, which is the custodian of the compound housing the mosque, to recall its ambassador to Israel in protest against what it called “unacceptable” Israeli police assault on the sacred site.
“I explained to him that we’re keeping the status quo on the Temple Mount and that this includes Jordan’s traditional role there,” Netanyahu said, using Israel’s name for the compound.
Near-daily clashes between the stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli riot police in the occupied East Jerusalem. Some of the attacks have turned deadly in recent weeks.
The unrest was triggered by Muslim fears of Jewish encroachment at the sacred site, a hilltop plateau known to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Since Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish worshippers have been allowed to visit – but not pray – at the site.
Abdullah, the head of one of only two Arab countries at peace with Israel, stressed Jordan’s rejection of “any measures harming the al-Aqsa Mosque and its sanctity”, according to a statement issued by the palace in Amman.
