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Monday, March 11, 2024
Jordan: Temple Mount access restrictions push situation toward ‘explosion’
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Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says restrictions imposed by Israel on Muslim worshipers’ access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound during Ramadan were pushing the situation toward an “explosion.”
In remarks on state media, Safadi says his country rejects Israel’s announced move to impose some limitations on access to the holy site during Ramadan.
Israel said last week it will not reduce the number of worshipers allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in the first week of Ramadan from the levels in previous years, amid serious concerns over efforts by Hamas and its backer Iran to stir up violence at the flashpoint site and in Jerusalem in general during the Muslim holy month.
However, police were accused of denying some Arab Israelis entry to the site last night, in apparent violation of a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that Muslim citizens will have free access.
Footage on social media showed Israeli Border Police officers assailing some worshipers with batons at the entrance to the compound. In response to the video, Israel Police said it was working to “enable freedom of worship on the Temple Mount while at the same time ensuring safety and security, in accordance with instructions given by the political leadership.”
The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism, where two biblical Temples once stood, and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest shrine in Islam, making the site a central flashpoint of the Israeli-Arab conflict.
The Times of Israel Community.