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Amman:
Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas
signed Monday an agreement confirming their “common goal to
defending” Jerusalem and its sacred sites against attempts to
Judaize the Holy City.
A statement by the palace said the deal confirms Jordan’s historic
role as custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, particularly
the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and outlines coordination
between the two sides.
“In this historic agreement, Abbas
reiterated that the king is the custodian of holy sites in
Jerusalem and that he has the right to exert all legal efforts to
preserve them, especially Al-Aqsa mosque,” the statement said.
“It is also emphasizing the
historical principles agreed by Jordan and Palestine to exert
joint efforts to protect the city and holy sites from Israeli
judaization attempts", he added.
“It also reaffirms the historic
principles upon which Jordan and Palestine are in agreement as
regards Jerusalem and their common goal of defending Jerusalem
together, especially at such critical time, when the city is
facing dramatic challenges and daily illegal changes to its
authenticity and original identity", he said.
Al-Aqsa compound, known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif, is
Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia,
and houses the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques.
But it is also Judaism’s most sacred
place of worship, venerated by Jews as Temple Mount, the site
where King Herod’s temple stood before it was destroyed by the
Romans in 70 AD.
It is one of the most sensitive
sites in Jerusalem, and clashes frequently break out between
Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
“Jerusalem is currently facing major
challenges and attempts to change its Arab, Muslim and Christian
identity,” the palace said.
Israel captured the eastern half of
the city during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a
move never recognized internationally, but the Palestinians want
east Jerusalem as capital of their future state.
Jordan, which has a 1994 peace
treaty with Israeli, administers the Muslim holy sites in
Jerusalem through its ministry of Awqaf and religious affairs.
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