Israeli Actions İn Jerusalem Undermine Peace: Jordan

Jordan said on Thursday that latest Israeli "escalation" in Jerusalem are undermining a peace treaty it signed with the self-proclaimed Jewish state in 1994.



"The latest Israeli measures threaten the Israeli-Jordanian relations," Jordanian Information Minister and government spokesman Mohamed al-Momani told Anadolu Agency.



He added that these measures also contradicted Israel's 1981 peace treaty with Jordan, the second Arab country to make peace with Israel after Egypt.



Al-Momani said Israel's measures in Jerusalem also ran counter to the international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.



"Israel has to stop any unilateral measures that can change the current situation in the city," al-Momani said.



He said Israel was an "occupying country" that should be aware of the limits it should go to in this capacity.



Earlier on Thursday, Israeli authorities had sealed off access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's most holy sites, before they reopened the site once again later in the day.



The closure – the first of its kind since 1967 when Israel occupied the city - came shortly after extremist Jewish rabbi Yehuda Glick was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in Jerusalem late Wednesday.



Glick is known for leading groups of Jews to force their way into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.



Tension intensified further when Israeli forces killed Moataz Hegazi – who had been suspected of shooting the rabbi – in a raid on his East Jerusalem home.



At least 20 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police near Hegazi's home in Al-Thawri neighborhood .



Clashes spilled over to other areas in the holy city where Israeli forces used stun grenades, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse stone-throwing Palestinian youths, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.



Israeli police said Hegazi – who reportedly spent several years in an Israeli prison before being released in 2012 – had been killed when he opened fire on police while resisting arrest in East Jerusalem.



Three other Palestinians were injured in the Israeli police raid, eyewitnesses said.



For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.



Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.



In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.



By Hamza al-Ekila



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