Recurring assaults by Jewish zealots and strict restrictions imposed by Israel at the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem are a violation of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Minister Hayel Dawood said.
The minister briefed British Ambassador Peter Mellett on Israeli aggressions and repeated attacks on the sanctity of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound, which, he said, violated the peace treaty that enshrined Jordan's custodianship of those places of worship.
"Such behaviours constitute a breach of the signed peace treaty and disrespect for this accord, as per which the state of Israel had recognised Jordan's administrative and legal jurisdiction over Islamic and Christian holy shrines in Jerusalem. Those actions also contravene international law and resolutions that deem the sacred sites as occupied territory, whereas it is inadmissible that the occupation authority change their status quo," Dawood said.
The minister said the Israeli assaults would feed extremism, urging the world community to take a unanimous stance against those violations.
Millett said British politicians were concerned over Israeli actions against holy Jerusalem, adding that the British ambassador to Israel had been assigned to request that Israel's government observe the peace treaty and recognise the status of the Waqf (Islamic authority) in Jerusalem.
Source: Petra