Abdullah: No to undermining Jordan's control of Jerusalem holy sites
In recent years, Jordan has repeatedly called on Israel to “stop its violations and provocations and respect the legal and historical status quo” at the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHKing of Jordan Abdullah II addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France January 15, 2020.(photo credit: VINCENT KESSLER/ REUTERS)Jordan will not accept any attempts to change Jerusalem’s historical and legal status quo, Jordan’s King Abdullah said on Thursday, adding that the kingdom would not give up its status as custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city.“The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites is a duty, a commitment, a firm belief, and a responsibility we have profoundly undertaken for more than a hundred years,” King Abdullah said in a speech during the inauguration of the new parliament. “Jerusalem is a symbol of peace, and we will not accept any attempts to alter its historical and legal status quo, nor attempts of temporal or spatial division of al-Aqsa mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif.”The Jordanian monarch’s statement came in wake of reports that the Jordanians are worried of losing their status as custodians of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, which dates back to 1924, when the Supreme Muslim Council, the highest body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandatory Palestine, accepted Hussein bin Ali (Hashemite Sharif of Mecca) as custodian of al-Aqsa Mosque.According to the unconfirmed reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials of the Trump administration have offered Saudi Arabia a role in managing al-Aqsa mosque if Riyadh agrees to establish relations with Israel.In recent years, Jordan has repeatedly called on Israel to “stop its violations and provocations and respect the legal and historical status quo” at the al-Aqsa mosque compound.In his speech, King Abdullah said that Jordan “will never waver from defending Jerusalem, its holy sites, its identity, and its history.”He repeated his call for achieving a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution and the establishment of “an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital.” Denying the Palestinians their just and legitimate rights, he added, “is the very reason our region continues to suffer conflict and instability.”
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