09 March 2017
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a letter to the Israeli embassy in its capital of Amman, protesting against “the Israeli damages of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
In the letter, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Mumni demanded that Israel stops the construction in the southern walls area of the mosque effective immediately, and to return the site to its original state.
Al-Mumni claimed that the construction is a clear violation of international and the peace treaty between the two countries.
The letter delivered at the beginning of March specifically demanded a halt to Israeli construction work being carried out in the Umayyad palaces near the southern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The letter highlighted the Jordanian government’s position that the renovations, which includes constructing wooden and cement paths in the eastern part of the Umayyad palaces and erecting a sign declaring the area a site for Jews, was an “aggression against land that fall under the jurisdiction of the Waqf administration in Jerusalem,” and noted that the Israeli actions were “an attempt to change the history of the area.”
The Jordanian government added that the policies would “worsen the relations between Israel and Jordan,” while destroying “all efforts to maintain calm and retain the historical status of Jerusalem.”
The source concluded that Jordan has demanded that Israel cease all aggression in Jerusalem and to remove changes made to the Umayyad palaces “immediately.”
