Jordan recalls envoy from Israel over ‘unprecedented escalation in Jerusalem’

Jordan recalled Ambassador to Israel Walid Obeidat for consultations in Amman to protest Israeli “aggression” on the Temple Mount and in Jerusalem in general, further fraying its already tense relationship with the Jewish state.

 

“Recalling our ambassador for consultation is an indication of the seriousness of the situation. Calm has to be restored, Israel has to respect the sanctity of the holy sites and I think this will resonate today,” Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said.

 

The Jordanian government took that decision after “what we have seen in the Aksa Mosque compound, not just in the last 24 hours but over the last period in general, [which] is just way beyond the limits,” Judeh said in Paris on the sidelines of a pre-scheduled meeting held with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

 

“We have sent repeated messages to Israel directly and indirectly that Jerusalem is a redline,” the Jordanian foreign minister continued, citing “continuous violations and incursions,” “stopping people from worshiping freely and allowing extremists to come in under the protection of the Israeli police and so many other violations.”

 

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