Israel’s War Against Palestine: Documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands

Jordan threatened to expel Israel envoy over Temple Mount clashes

12 October 2009

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz – 12 Oct 2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1120486.html

Jordan threatened to expel Israel’s ambassador to the Kingdom last week in the event of Israel choosing to forcibly enter the Temple Mount during clashes in Jerusalem, the pan-Arab paper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, tensions between the two neighbors flared as Jordan threatened to carry out the move, which it said would be in response to Israel intervening in favor what it called Jewish extremists.

Last week, a senior Jordanian source told Haaretz that the police must keep Jewish religious extremists away from the Temple Mount and keep the Mugrabi Gate closed. “That will calm the atmosphere while respecting the Jordanian role in Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.

In an interview to Haaretz last week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II further elaborated the significance Jerusalem had to the Hashemite Kingdom, and the concerns the Temple Mount clashes recently raised.

“We are seeing problems in Jerusalem that will directly destabilize not only the relationship with Jordan – which has a special concern and role in Jerusalem that is recognized in the peace treaty – but will also create a tinderbox that will be a major flashpoint throughout the Islamic world,” the king said.

“I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as his predecessors, that they have to understand that unilateral actions in Jerusalem are going to jeopardize all these efforts,” he added.

Netanyahu, in response to last week’s violence, urged the Arab world on Monday to ignore the “lies” that Israel was planning to dig under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a comment made.

“Last week extremist figures tried to undermine [Israel's] stability. This is an extremist minority that spread lies about Israel digging under the Temple Mount. This is a lie,” said Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting.

He was apparently also referring to rumors spread among Palestinians and Israeli Arabs of an attempt by Israel to harm the Islamic holy sites in the compound, which contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Back to Top

Readers are welcome to discuss IOA content on our Facebook page. To participate, please click HERE.

Please support the IOA so that we can continue covering the Israeli Occupation. To help, please click HERE.

Previous post:

Next post: