Jordan slams ‘barefaced Israeli violations’ in Temple Mount

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry slams Israel for using force against Palestinians at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“The Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry condemns the continuation of barefaced Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the last of which was Israeli forces’ aggression against worshipers and members of the Jerusalem Awqaf’s administrative staff in the noble sanctuary,” Sufyan Qudah, the ministry’s spokesman, says in a statement.

Clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli police forces on the Temple Mount this morning.

According to the Israel Police, thousands of Muslim worshipers gathered near the Mughrabi Gate during the morning and began throwing rocks and other objects at police forces.

Police said it decided to clear those rioting on the Temple Mount with “dispersal means.”

Qudah also says that Jordan sent a letter of protest to Israel through official diplomatic channels and called on it to “respect the sanctity of the mosque and the feelings of the worshipers.”

Sunday marks both the start of Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday commemorating the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the temples that once stood on the Temple Mount and other disasters in Jewish history.

— Adam Rasgon