AMMAN: Jordan has warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Israeli forces stormed the al-Aqsa mosque again.
Should the Israeli police, “assault worshipers again, in an attempt to empty [the mosque] of worshipers, in preparation for major incursions into the mosque,” it would, “push the situation towards more tension and violence, for which everyone will pay the price,” Ambassador Sinan al-Majali, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement late Saturday.
“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 stop its incursions into the holy al-Aqsa mosque… and its terrorization of worshipers in these blessed days,” al-Majali said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry in a tweet early on Sunday responded to Jordan’s warning, saying that people who, “barricade themselves inside [the al-Aqsa mosque] are a dangerous mob, radicalized and incited by Hamas and other terror organizations.”
It also called on Jordan’s Waqf guards, “to immediately remove from the al-Aqsa Mosque these extremists who are planning to riot (on Sunday) during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall.”
2/2 We call on Jordan, through the Waqf guards, to immediately remove from the Al-Aqsa Mosque these extremists who are planning to riot tomorrow during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 8, 2023
The Jordanian Waqf
The Jerusalem Waqf, also known as the Jordanian Waqf or simply the Waqf, is the Jordan-appointed body responsible for controlling and managing the current Islamic edifices on the al-Aqsa mosque compound, known as the Temple Mount by Jews.
Israeli forces raided Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque twice in a single day (Wednesday) last week, claiming that “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside.
The Israeli police again alleged on Saturday night that, “many youngsters [had] entered the mosque and closed the doors, for no reason.”
Muslims view Israeli raids of al-Aqsa mosque as a major provocation.
