Ties between Jordan, Israel deteriorate over Al-Aqsa raids

Tensions between Jordan and Israel have erupted in recent days due to Israel's continued attacks on worshippers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque.

Relations have improved since Naftali Bennett became Israel's prime minister last year, but Amman has expressed anger over repeated raids by Israeli forces at the third most holy site in Islam.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured or arrested in the raids.

Jordan summoned Israel's ambassador to Amman to the foreign ministry on Monday, when he was handed a letter of protest demanding an immediate halt to Israeli violations.

Al-Aqsa Mosque - which is the third-holiest site in Islam - has faced repeated Israeli security and settler assaults since Friday, prompting widespread condemnation in the Muslim world. This has become a near-annual occurrence during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Jordan controlled East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967 and Jordan's royal Hashemite family has been the custodian of the holy sites in the occupied sector since 1924.

On Saturday, 76 members of Jordan's parliament signed a written request urging the government to close the Israeli embassy in Amman, sever diplomatic ties, and suspend bilateral agreements with Israel.

Amman wants to continue to exert efforts to maintain calm in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as any escalation in the Palestinian territories could have a direct impact on security in Jordan, journalist Majid Touba said in an interview with The New Arab’s Arabic edition.

Israel’s attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque also threaten the Hashemite guardianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites, Touba added, which are considered a "red line" by Jordan.

Israeli policies could also pose a serious threat to its ties with Jordan, which began seeing some improvement after Benjamin Netanyahu's ouster from government in 2021.

Jordan officially established ties with Israel in 1994. It was the second Arab country to do so after Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.