Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Amman to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II today following an escalation in tensions over a holy site in Jerusalem.
(Bloomberg) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Amman to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II today following an escalation in tensions over a holy site in Jerusalem.
The meeting, the first since Netanyahu took power after winning elections in November, appeared aimed at calming a situation that started with the visit of a senior Israeli minister to the holy site and deepened when Jordan’s ambassador was delayed in entering the compound. The king today stressed the need to maintain the status quo at the site and restore calm, according to a statement from the royal court.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit earlier this month to the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, was widely viewed as provocative. Confrontations at the compound have in the past triggered wider Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting after Ben Gvir’s visit to discuss “Israeli violations in Jerusalem.” Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab countries said Israel was destabilizing the status quo at the site.
A week later, Israeli police delayed Jordanian Ambassador Ghassan Majali’s entrance to the site, saying he needed permission in advance. Jordan, which maintains a special custodial role over the compound, summoned Israel’s ambassador. Majali later returned to visit the site.
–With assistance from Alisa Odenheimer.
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