<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/04/jordan-convenes-emergency-meeting-israel-religious-conflict-jerusalem>
"Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab
and Islamic world over what it says is an “imminent” threat of an Israeli
takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem, with the potential to
“trigger a religious conflict”.
The meeting on Wednesday – and the Jordanian warning – follow an escalating
pattern of government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremists on the
compound around al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, in violation of a status
quo treaty overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, by which only Muslims can
pray at the site.
On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis from the religious right – mostly settlers
led by the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir – stormed the area,
known to Jews as the Temple Mount. They prayed and performed rituals all around
the compound in what Jordanian officials said was the worst violation in modern
history.
The Temple Mount is also the holiest site in Judaism, the site of two temples
which were built and then destroyed by invaders in ancient times. Under the
status quo agreement, the Western Wall - which was a retaining wall that
survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE - is
reserved for Jewish prayer.
Amman has also been alarmed at a recent recruitment drive for religious Jews
for a special Temple Mount police unit, and is braced for more direct
challenges to traditional Jordanian custodianship by extremist Israeli leaders
in the major Jewish holidays in September. This year, those holidays will come
amid an intense election campaign, in which the far-right coalition of the
prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be fighting for survival.
“This is a constant threat, a dangerous threat that we’re trying to counter in
every tool that we have possible,” Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi,
told the
Guardian. “We warn that tampering with the status quo … could
trigger a religious conflict that will reverberate beyond Palestine and Jordan
into the whole Muslim world.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
