Al-Aqsa Under Threat of Seizure, Jordan Convenes Muslim Nations

Jordan is holding an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic worlds to discuss what they describe as a “near-term” threat of an Israeli takeover of the holiest Muslim site in Jerusalem, an act they warn could “ignite a religious conflict”.

Wednesday’s meeting, and Jordan’s warning, follow a pattern of escalating government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremist groups into the area around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. These actions violate the status quo agreement overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, which stipulates that only Muslims may worship at the site.

On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis from religious right-wing groups—mostly settlers led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir—stormed into the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount. They recited prayers and performed rituals across the entire complex in what Jordanian officials described as the worst violation in modern history.

Amman is also alarmed by recent efforts to recruit religious Jews for a special Temple Mount police unit, and is bracing for a more direct challenge to Jordan’s traditional role as custodian of the site from Israeli extremist leaders during Jewish high holy days in September.

This year, those holy days will coincide with a heated election campaign in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition will be fighting to hold on to power.

“This is a constant threat, a dangerous threat that we are trying to fend off with all the means at our disposal,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told The Guardian.

“We are warning that actions disturbing the status quo… could trigger a religious conflict whose impact would extend well beyond Palestine and Jordan to the entire Muslim world.”

Safadi, who will chair Wednesday’s emergency meeting—bringing together his counterparts from Arab League states as well as Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan—said this was “something the entire international community must be aware of. Jerusalem is an area highly prone to igniting conflict.”

“We are trying to explain the dangers that exist. We are lodging protests through lawful means. We are working to build awareness of the very real dangers arising from the continuation of these Israeli measures.”