i24 News – The Jordanian prime minister strongly criticized Israel on Monday over the ongoing clashes on the Har Habayis in Yerushalayim between Israeli security forces and violent Muslim worshippers.
Addressing a session of the Jordanian parliament, Bisher Khasawneh said he “salutes every Palestinian and member of the Waqf (the Jordanian-backed organization that oversees the holy site) in Jerusalem who throws stones at Zionists to defend against the Israeli occupation.”
Ayman Safadi’s office said he would present Deputy Ambassador Sami Abu Janeb with a letter demanding that Israel immediately cease all “violations” at the mosque.
Safadi intends to convene a meeting in the coming days to be attended by representatives of Arab League members, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and Algeria, to an emergency discussion regarding the situation in Jerusalem and Israel’s “aggression.”
Following Abu Janeb’s summons, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday held an assessment of the situation at his office with diplomatic officials on possible actions to be taken in response, which would include “tough measures,” according to the Ynet news site.
Sources quoted by Ynet said Safadi’s conduct only further stoked tensions in Jerusalem, saying it put “lives at risk.”
“Instead of stoking tensions, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry is expected to calm things down and honor the sanctity of all holidays,” the sources said. “It is unfortunate that Jordanians choose to look only at Israel and not condemn the conduct of the rioters.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement rejecting Jordan’s praise for the rioters and decrying the incitement to violence.
“I take seriously the statements that accuse Israel of violence directed at us and there are those who encourage the throwing of stones and the use of violence against the citizens of the state of Israel. This is not acceptable to us. This is a reward to instigators led by Hamas, which is trying to ignite violence here in Jerusalem. We will not let that happen,” Bennett said in a video message.
Minister Gideon Sa’ar from the New Hope party also weighed in, saying in an interview that Israel rejects “Jordanian attempts to preach morality to Israel,” adding that “they serve the most extremist elements in the region who want escalation.”
“We still remember the period when Jordan ruled the Old City. Jews were not allowed to pray at the Western Wall and Jewish parts of it were destroyed,” Sa’ar said.
“Acting as a state within a state, the fedayeen disregarded local laws and regulations, and even attempted to assassinate King Hussein twice—leading to violent confrontations between them and the Jordanian Army in June 1970. Hussein wanted to oust them from the country, but hesitated to strike because he did not want his enemies to use it against him by equating Palestinian fighters with civilians. PLO actions in Jordan culminated in the Dawson’s Field hijackings incident of 6 September, in which the PFLP hijacked three civilian aircraft and forced their landing in Zarqa, taking foreign nationals as hostages, and later blowing up the planes in front of international press. Hussein saw this as the last straw, and ordered the army to take action.”
Bisher Khasawneh can drop dead!