TEHRAN, Mar 18 -Jordanian legislators have demanded expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to the kingdom, Amir Weissbrod, in response to “ongoing Israeli aggression” at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -“The parliament recommended the government to recall the Jordanian ambassador from Israel and expel the Israeli ambassador from Amman to confront the ongoing Israeli aggression at holy sites in occupied Jerusalem” al-Quds, Jordan’s official Petra news agency reported on Monday.
The lawmakers also called on the Amman government to address the UN Security Council about “stopping Israeli violations and protecting the Palestinian people.”
Jordan is the official custodian of holy Muslim sites in Jerusalem al-Quds, and is the only Arab country apart from Egypt to have diplomatic relations with the Tel Aviv regime.
On Sunday, the Jerusalem al-Quds Magistrate's Court announced that it had accepted a request by Israeli officials to temporarily close Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy) prayer area at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Jordan condemned the court ruling, with its Foreign Ministry saying that Israel would bear “full responsibility for the dangerous consequences” of the decision.
Prayer area of the al-Rahma Gate was closed on February 25 upon an order by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reopened the following day.
Israel had closed the gate that leads to the prayer space in al-Aqsa Mosque since 2003 in the face of the Second Intifada (uprising) against the regime’s occupation.
On February 22, however, the Waqf Council, which oversees the holy sites at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, decided to re-open the prayer space at the Bab al-Rahma Gate in defiance of Israel’s 16-year-old ban. Hundreds of worshipers, led by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem al-Quds, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, entered the area for the first time since 2003 for Friday prayers.
Angered by the move, the Tel Aviv regime launched an arrest campaign against Palestinians.
The arrests drew criticisms from Palestinians and Jordan.
The Islamic Waqf organization and Palestinian institutions have insisted on keeping the Bab al-Rahma prayer area open for Muslim worship.
Palestinians have repeatedly warned of Israeli attempts to change the status quo of the al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in Islam.
Source: Press TV
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