Jordan condemns Israeli incursions onto Temple Mount

Jordan is condemning Jewish visits to the Temple Mount, warning of “catastrophic consequences” should Israel not cease what it says are violations of the status quo at the fragile holy site.

A statement from Jordan’s foreign ministry spokesman Sinan Majali carried by the country’s official Petra mouthpiece warns “that the Israeli police forces’ violation of the sanctity of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Al-Sharif and assaulting worshipers again in an attempt to empty it of worshipers, in preparation for major incursions into the mosque, will push the situation towards more tension and violence, for which everyone will pay the price.”

A slightly different statement carried by Petra in Arabic makes clear that Jordan is condemning Jewish visits under Israeli police protection and notes that only Muslim prayer is permitted at the site. It claims exclusive jurisdiction for the Jordanian-funded Waqf, which administers the site.

“The Israeli government bears responsibility for the escalation in Jerusalem and in all the occupied Palestinian territories and for the deterioration that will worsen” if it does not halt incursions into the holy site or “terrorization” of worshipers, the statement reads.

Some 1,000 Jewish visitors have ascended the Temple Mount since the start of the Passover holiday last week, 842 on Sunday morning alone, according to an umbrella group of organizations lobbying for greater Jewish access to the site.