Amman warns that the gradual normalisation of Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s most contested holy site could transform the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a wider religious confrontation.
Jordan has called an emergency meeting of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers amid mounting fears that Israel is dismantling the decades-old arrangements governing the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday in Amman, will bring together ministers from Arab states as well as Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi is expected to seek a coordinated diplomatic response to what Amman describes as an “imminent” threat to the compound and to Jordan’s custodial role there.
“Jerusalem is a tinderbox,” Safadi told The Guardian, warning that interference with the site’s established arrangements could produce repercussions across the Muslim world.
There is, however, an important distinction: no Israeli cabinet decision formally transferring control of Al-Aqsa or ending Jordanian custodianship has been announced. Jordan’s warning refers instead to the cumulative effect of changing practices on the ground—particularly the increasingly open performance of Jewish prayers under Israeli police protection.
Mass Visit Becomes Immediate Trigger
The latest crisis was triggered on July 23, when thousands of Jewish visitors, including settlers and far-right activists, entered the compound for Tisha B’Av, the annual day of mourning for the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples believed to have stood at the site.
The Palestinian-run Jerusalem governorate placed the number of entrants at more than 4,200. An Israeli organisation campaigning for Jewish worship rights said more than 3,000 had visited by midday.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined the gathering, along with other government and parliamentary figures. Videos and press reports showed visitors praying, bowing, carrying religious texts, raising Israeli flags and singing the national anthem. Palestinian officials said restrictions were simultaneously imposed on Muslim worshippers.
Ben-Gvir celebrated what he called the unprecedented progress made at the compound, pointing to “Jews praying, feeling like they’re the owners of the place,” according to Reuters.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned both the visit and the Israeli police role in facilitating it. In a statement carried by the official Petra news agency, Amman accused Israel of attempting to establish new realities and eventually divide the compound between Muslim and Jewish worshippers by time and location.
Eight Arab and Muslim governments—including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Pakistan—issued a joint statement condemning the mass entry, Israeli flags, new police installations and restrictions on access.
What The “Status Quo” Means
The elevated compound, known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. It is Islam’s third-holiest site and the holiest place in Judaism.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed it—an act not recognised internationally. The International Court of Justice continues to regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Israel, by contrast, considers the entire city its sovereign capital.
After the 1967 war, an informal division of authority was maintained: the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf administered the compound’s religious affairs, while Israel controlled security and access. Muslims could worship there, while non-Muslims could visit at specified times but were not permitted to pray.
Jordan’s Hashemite custodianship dates formally to 1924. Its role was subsequently recognised by Israel in Article 9 of the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty and reaffirmed in a 2013 agreement between King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
For Jewish activists, the prayer restriction represents discrimination at Judaism’s holiest site. But many Palestinians and Muslim governments see organised Jewish worship as the first stage of a territorial and religious division resembling the arrangement imposed at Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque.
A Year Of Incremental Changes
The July gathering followed a succession of changes during 2026.
In January, Israeli police began allowing Jewish visitors to carry printed prayer sheets into the compound. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that changes introduced under Ben-Gvir had been coordinated with him, while still insisting that the status quo had not been altered.
During Ramadan in February, Waqf officials reported the detention or exclusion of dozens of staff and imams, police raids during prayers and restrictions on maintenance work. Visiting hours for Jewish groups were also extended.
In April, Ben-Gvir visited again, openly prayed and said he felt like the “owner” of the site. In June, the Israeli police reportedly began recruiting religious-nationalist Jews—including Temple Mount activists—for a specialised unit policing the compound.
By July, according to the Israeli, Jewish prayer had become de facto permissible in the compound’s eastern section, although police continued arresting some worshippers who prayed in other areas. Netanyahu’s office has repeatedly maintained that the formal rules remain in force.
An unverified May report by Middle East Eye also alleged that American and Israeli figures were considering replacing the Waqf with a new “multi-faith” authority. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently said he had never heard such a proposal discussed, according to the Jordan Times.
Al-Aqsa has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to turn local confrontations into wider wars. Ariel Sharon’s heavily guarded visit in 2000 helped ignite the second intifada. Israeli police actions at the compound contributed to the escalation that preceded the 2021 Gaza war. Hamas named its October 2023 attack “Al-Aqsa Flood,” claiming—among other stated justifications—that the site was under threat.
The issue is also central to the Hashemite monarchy’s religious and political legitimacy. Losing effective authority over the compound would weaken Jordan’s standing in Jerusalem, undermine an important element of its peace treaty with Israel and expose the monarchy to intense domestic criticism.
Amman’s concern is magnified by Israeli settlement expansion and Palestinian displacement in the West Bank. Jordan has repeatedly warned that any attempt to force Palestinians across the Jordan River would cross a national “red line.” Relations have also deteriorated over Israel’s refusal to renew an additional water-supply arrangement, reducing annual deliveries from about 100 million to the 50 million cubic metres guaranteed under the 1994 treaty.
Jordan expects further pressure during the major Jewish holidays in September, shortly before Israel’s October 27 election. Amman fears that far-right politicians may use highly symbolic actions at the compound to mobilise nationalist and religious voters.
The emergency meeting therefore represents an attempt to prevent gradual changes from becoming irreversible. The immediate danger is not necessarily the physical seizure of Al-Aqsa, but the normalisation of a new system in which Israeli police determine worship practices, Jewish prayer becomes permanent and the Waqf retains authority in name only.