Amman governor says measures taken out of ‘security concerns’ after thousands demonstrate against ‘violations’ of Temple Mount
Jordanian authorities on Monday fenced off the Israeli embassy in Amman amid intensifying demonstrations over Israel’s alleged violation of Muslim rights at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
Amman’s Governor Khaled Abu Zeid said the two-meter high metal fence was erected out of “security concerns,” Walla news reported, citing the pan-Arab Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Earlier this month, thousands of Jordanians took to the streets several Jordanian cities calling on the government to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel in response to Israeli “violations” against Palestinians in Jerusalem.
In Amman, some 5,000 rallied outside the Israeli embassy, torching an Israeli flag and chanting: “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian soil.”
The demonstrators, who rallied at the call of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood carried signs that read: “The land is ours, Jerusalem is ours and Allah is with us.”
Jordan has custodian rights over the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews and scene of clashes last month between Palestinians youths and Israeli forces.
Palestinians accuse Israel of planning to change the status quo at the site. The Israeli government has repeatedly denied any intention of altering the status quo on the site, the holiest in Judaism and third-holiest in Islam, where Jews are currently permitted to visit but not to pray.
The violence has spread to other parts of Jerusalem, Israel, the West Bank and the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Friday’s protests came as Palestinians called for a “Day of Rage” against Israel, and as Jerusalem police barred men under 40 from attending prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In September, Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned that clashes at the Temple Mount could have “serious consequences” and that any “provocation” in Jerusalem could damage ties between Jordan and Israel.
Amman withdrew its ambassador to Israel after clashes broke out at the holy site last November.
The Jordanian government said it was monitoring developments and that “legal and diplomatic decisions” could be taken in the face of “Israeli aggression.”
Since the beginning of the year, Jordan has handed down jail sentences against eight of its citizens and one Syrian national for planning attacks on the Israeli embassy and US soldiers in the country.
As reported by The Times of Israel