Jordan demands Israel end ‘provocations’

Amman: Jordan urged Israel on Monday to stop blocking restoration work at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site.

Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman Daifallah Alfayez said he had sent a "protest note" demanding Israel "refrain from such violations and provocations, and respect the mandate of Jordan in administering Muslim holy sites". There was no immediate response from Israel.

Under a 1994 peace deal, the Jewish state recognises Jordan’s oversight of Muslim holy sites in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian sector of the city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.