Jordan protests rabbi storming of Jerusalem mosque

Jordan Tuesday strongly protested a raid into Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound, led by ultranationalist rabbi Yehuda Glick of the ruling Likud party, and urged Israel, as the occupation power, to stop such provocations.

State Minister for Media Affairs, official government spokesman, Mohammad Momani, said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs, through its close monitoring of the Israeli violations of Al Aqsa Mosque/Haram al Sharif (holy sanctuary), which it considers a red line, today lodged an official protest to the Israeli embassy in Amman.

The memo, he said, held Israel, the power of occupation, fully responsible for the safety of Al Aqsa Mosque, and reiterated Jordan's condemnation and rejection of recurrent raids by Glick, an extremist Israeli rabbi who campaigns for expanding Jewish access to the mosque compound.

He said the protest note also expressed rejection of any attempt to change the status quo at the holy compound or undermine the historic Hashemite custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem, demanding a halt to such provocations that took place amidst efforts to calm tensions in the holy city.

The memo urged Israel to carry out its obligations towards the holy sites under the international law and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.

Momani said the foreign and Awqaf (religious affairs) ministries were monitoring the situation at Al Aqsa Mosque, adding that Jordan would pursue its efforts through diplomacy and legal means to deter Israel and bring the breaches to a stop. He urged the world community and international organisations to help in this endeavour.

Source : MENA