Temple Mount Update: Jordan Demands Total Control With Reduced Jewish Presence

Jordan demands total control, reduced Jewish presence on Temple Mount

ISRAEL KASNETT

Jordan fears it is losing its recognized status as official custodian of Jerusalem’s holy Muslim sites, including the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, as Palestinians incited by Hamas, other terror groups and the Palestinian Authority continuously held riots during the Muslim month of Ramadan. In at least one incident, rioters nearly set the Al-Aqsa mosque on fire. Jordan has blamed Israel for the violence and for violating the status quo there. And now, it is demanding total control over the Temple Mount, with worrying consequences. But experts say the story goes deeper.

Moshe Albo, a senior researcher in the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University in Herzliya (formerly the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya), told JNS that in order to understand what’s happening in Jerusalem, it’s important to understand the broader context.

He explained that Jordan is currently experiencing “huge” domestic economic and political crises. With soaring energy and basic food prices, in addition to visible cracks within the royal family, Jordan’s King Abdullah II is losing his image of stability.

The country is also worried that Hamas is replacing it as custodian and “gatekeeper” of the Temple Mount.

Responding to criticism that Israeli Police used heavy-handed tactics to quell Palestinian violence on the Temple Mount, earlier this week Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid accused Hamas of orchestrating the riots. At this point, Palestinian rioters seem to be listening to instructions from Hamas—not the Jordanian Waqf.

On top of that, Jordan is worried about Gulf states replacing it as the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy Muslim sites.

Jordan did not participate in the recent “Negev Summit,” and according to Albo, it sees the United Arab Emirates, the Saudis and Moroccans as contenders for custodianship over Al-Aqsa—a message that has recently been voiced a number of times.

On Friday, Israeli journalist Yoni Ben-Menachem tweeted that there is a “disagreement between the UAE and Jordan over the Temple Mount.”

He wrote that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, “demands that the status quo on the Temple Mount allow freedom of worship for members of all religions, as stipulated in the standardization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. King Abdullah opposes that and claims this violates the existing status quo and the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel.”

That is a groundbreaking statement by an Arab leader to make, especially given the timing, and suggests regional elbowing for control of the Temple Mount.

According to Albo, the Jordanian reaction to what is taking place on the Temple Mount is a result of its desire to secure its responsibility over the mountain and to ensure that no other regional player replaces it as custodian.

“The Jordanians do not like the Gulf states talking about the mountain,” said Albo, “but [Jordan] is hardly in a position to secure its position.”

Israeli media reported on Friday that Israel has so far rejected Jordan’s demands.

According to Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Jordanian request “is almost certainly a non-starter.”

He said Israel is not likely to change the status quo in the Old City, and Jordan’s “aggressive push for more control could even spur tensions with Israel.”

Meanwhile, King Abdullah is in Washington to discuss these issues with the Biden administration. His trip comes after P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Jordan on Wednesday, where Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan’s full support for the Palestinians.

Israel is consistently called on by the international community to protect freedom of worship at all holy sites. Yet Jordan, as well as the international community, has long insisted that Israeli authorities restrict Jewish freedom of worship on Judaism’s holiest site in the name of maintaining the status quo.

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