Jordan MPs callfor expulsion of Israel ambassador

AMMAN: Jordanian lawmakers on Monday sought to expel the Israeli ambassador from the kingdom in response to “ongoing Israel aggression” at holy sites in Jerusalem.

Amman is the official custodian of Jerusalem’s holy Muslim sites and the parliamentary session followed an Israeli court ruling on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. “The parliament recommended the government 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,” reported the official Petra news agency.

Lawmakers also called on the government to address the UN Security Council about “stopping Israeli violations and protecting the Palestinian people”. Jordan is the only Arab country apart from Egypt to have a peace deal with Israel. But the treaty is overwhelmingly opposed by Jordanians, more than half of whom are of Palestinian origin.

On Sunday, an Israeli court ordered the temporary closure of a side building known as the Golden Gate at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.Jordan condemned the court ruling, with its foreign ministry saying that Israel would bear “full responsibility for the dangerous consequences” of the decision.There have in recent weeks been scuffles between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the site over the use of the side building.