- Jordan has issued a stark warning that an imminent Israeli takeover of one of Jerusalem 's most significant Muslim sites, the al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock compound, could ignite a widespread religious conflict.
- In response to repeated incursions by Jewish religious extremists into the holy site, the Jordanian government is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic nations on Wednesday.
- Hardline Israeli government ministers, including Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have openly called for the site, known to Jews as Temple Mount, to be brought under Israeli state control with a synagogue built on its grounds, with Ben Gvir recently joining an escorted storming of the site.
- The decades-old status quo, under which Jordan has held custodianship of the site for over a century and which was affirmed in a 1994 peace treaty, is now severely threatened by actions such as revoked permits for Muslim staff, arrests of imams, and escalating incursions.
- Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also voiced concerns about a potential mass deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank, warning that any attempt at Israeli displacement of Palestinians into Jordan would be a 'red line' and a tremendous escalation.
IN FULL
Israeli takeover of Jerusalem’s most important Muslim site is ‘imminent’, warns Jordan
