Jordan Summons Israeli Ambassador To Protest 'Violations' On Temple Mount - Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2019) The Jordanian Foreign Ministry has said that it summoned Israeli Ambassador Amir Weissbrod on Sunday to protest his country's "violations" with regard to the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Earlier, Israeli police lifted the ban for non-Muslims to visit the Temple Mount. On August 11, Muslim worshipers clashed with police in the area, protesting a visit by hundreds of Israelis to the sacred site. Last week, Muslims were notably celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays in islam, which coincided with Jewish holy days, when Jews mourn the destruction of the temples that once stood on the Temple Mount.

"At noon, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to emphasize that Jordan condemns Israel's violations in Al-Aqsa Mosque/on the Temple Mount and to demand an immediate end to the provocative actions on the Temple Mount, which fuel the conflict and violate the international law," the ministry's spokesman, Sufyan Qudah, wrote on Twitter.

Al-Aqsa mosque, which is situated close to both Christian and Jewish holy sites, has been one of the flashpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The mosque is a part of the Temple Mount area which has repeatedly seen violent confrontations in recent years between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli servicemen.

Jordan is the custodian of Muslim sacred sites in Jerusalem. Israel has repeatedly said that the status of the mosque is immutable. The status, meanwhile, stipulates that only Muslims have the right to pray there, while the others are allowed to visit it freely.