23 july 2019
Jordan has denied claims by Israeli media about an agreement between Israel and Jordan to close Bab al-Rahma prayer area at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months.
Israel Channel 12 quoted an Israeli source as saying that the crisis with Jordan over Bab al-Rahma was on the way to a solution, and that there was a plan to avoid a deterioration of relations with Jordan.
The Jordanian news agency, Petra, quoted an official source denying as not true the Israeli press allegations regarding Bab al-Rahma.
"There is no basis to these allegations,” said the source. “Jordan's firm position is that Bab al-Rahma is an integral part of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and anything that applies to Al-Aqsa Mosque applies to it as well. We reject any attempt to change the historical and legal statues in the holy places."
He stressed that the door to Bab al-Rahma building must be restored and returned to what it was on before it was closed by the Israeli authorities in March 2003, stressing the need to respect the Islamic Waqf department’s exclusive authority in the management of all the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to the Israeli channel, the agreement was reached between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials.
It said that a meeting was held last Sunday during which an agreement was reached to avoid differences with Jordan over Al-Aqsa Mosque and Bab al-Rahma.
Under the plan, it was decided to close Bab al-Rahma building for a period of six months, during which extensive restoration work will take place as requested by Jordan after which Israel will agree to reopen it.
Israel Channel 12 quoted an Israeli source as saying that the crisis with Jordan over Bab al-Rahma was on the way to a solution, and that there was a plan to avoid a deterioration of relations with Jordan.
The Jordanian news agency, Petra, quoted an official source denying as not true the Israeli press allegations regarding Bab al-Rahma.
"There is no basis to these allegations,” said the source. “Jordan's firm position is that Bab al-Rahma is an integral part of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and anything that applies to Al-Aqsa Mosque applies to it as well. We reject any attempt to change the historical and legal statues in the holy places."
He stressed that the door to Bab al-Rahma building must be restored and returned to what it was on before it was closed by the Israeli authorities in March 2003, stressing the need to respect the Islamic Waqf department’s exclusive authority in the management of all the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to the Israeli channel, the agreement was reached between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials.
It said that a meeting was held last Sunday during which an agreement was reached to avoid differences with Jordan over Al-Aqsa Mosque and Bab al-Rahma.
Under the plan, it was decided to close Bab al-Rahma building for a period of six months, during which extensive restoration work will take place as requested by Jordan after which Israel will agree to reopen it.
22 july 2019
Jordan foiled today an attempt by the Israeli occupation authorities to deport Palestinian photojournalist Mustafa Kharouf, from Jerusalem, who has been fighting deportation order for a while.
Israeli authorities tried early morning to deport the photojournalist from Jerusalem to Jordan via the King Hussein Bridge (the Allenby Crossing).
However, the Jordanian side confirmed that no Palestinian would be allowed to enter its territories without having the necessary papers and documents.
The occupation authorities then tried to deport him through the border crossing near the city of Aqaba, however the Jordanian authorities refused to allow him to cross after the Israeli authorities left Kharouf in the buffer zone and returned him back to the occupied territories, foiling the Israeli attempts to deport him and bringing him back to Jerusalem to face another legal battle.
Anadolu Photojournalist Back in Israeli Jail
After failing to deport him to Jordan, Israeli authorities returned an Anadolu Agency photojournalist to a detention center, on Monday, where he has been detained for six months, according to his lawyer.
Israeli had tried since Sunday evening to deport Mustafa Kharouf, 32, to Jordan, but Jordan’s firm opposition prevented this, Adi Lustigman, Kharouf’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
Kharouf’s lawyer explained that she had not yet had the opportunity to speak by phone with her client, stressing that they would press for his release through all legal avenues.
“Developments since yesterday evening have shown that there is no other place for Kharouf to go but Jerusalem,” the city he covered, the lawyer added.
Kharouf will face an Israeli court on Aug. 8, said Lustigman.
Lustigman stressed that she will request a meeting with Kharouf and his release as soon as possible.
A source at Jordan’s Foreign Ministry told Anadolu Agency that they blocked the deportation as he does not hold Jordanian nationality.
The deportation was also blocked due to the “illegal way that Israel tried to get him in,” the source added anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media, without giving further details.
Israel has not commented on the reports.
Earlier Monday, a friend of Kharouf told Anadolu that he has not been heard from since an Israeli decision to deport him to Jordan.
Threat of deportation
Kharouf was detained by Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Jan. 22 and held in prison in advance of his planned deportation.
Israeli authorities say that Kharouf, who has lived in Jerusalem with his family since he was 12, was born in Algeria.
“He told me during a phone call from prison on Sunday that Israeli authorities will deport him to Jordan today,” his friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.
For the last 20 years, Israeli authorities have consistently refused to grant Kharouf a long-term residency permit, forcing him to get fresh tourist visas each year.
While Kharouf holds a Jordanian passport that allows him to travel to neighboring Arab states, it does not give him citizenship or residency rights in Jordan.
Kharouf has worked for Anadolu as a photojournalist since last August, Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency further reports.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Israeli authorities tried early morning to deport the photojournalist from Jerusalem to Jordan via the King Hussein Bridge (the Allenby Crossing).
However, the Jordanian side confirmed that no Palestinian would be allowed to enter its territories without having the necessary papers and documents.
The occupation authorities then tried to deport him through the border crossing near the city of Aqaba, however the Jordanian authorities refused to allow him to cross after the Israeli authorities left Kharouf in the buffer zone and returned him back to the occupied territories, foiling the Israeli attempts to deport him and bringing him back to Jerusalem to face another legal battle.
Anadolu Photojournalist Back in Israeli Jail
After failing to deport him to Jordan, Israeli authorities returned an Anadolu Agency photojournalist to a detention center, on Monday, where he has been detained for six months, according to his lawyer.
Israeli had tried since Sunday evening to deport Mustafa Kharouf, 32, to Jordan, but Jordan’s firm opposition prevented this, Adi Lustigman, Kharouf’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
Kharouf’s lawyer explained that she had not yet had the opportunity to speak by phone with her client, stressing that they would press for his release through all legal avenues.
“Developments since yesterday evening have shown that there is no other place for Kharouf to go but Jerusalem,” the city he covered, the lawyer added.
Kharouf will face an Israeli court on Aug. 8, said Lustigman.
Lustigman stressed that she will request a meeting with Kharouf and his release as soon as possible.
A source at Jordan’s Foreign Ministry told Anadolu Agency that they blocked the deportation as he does not hold Jordanian nationality.
The deportation was also blocked due to the “illegal way that Israel tried to get him in,” the source added anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media, without giving further details.
Israel has not commented on the reports.
Earlier Monday, a friend of Kharouf told Anadolu that he has not been heard from since an Israeli decision to deport him to Jordan.
Threat of deportation
Kharouf was detained by Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Jan. 22 and held in prison in advance of his planned deportation.
Israeli authorities say that Kharouf, who has lived in Jerusalem with his family since he was 12, was born in Algeria.
“He told me during a phone call from prison on Sunday that Israeli authorities will deport him to Jordan today,” his friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.
For the last 20 years, Israeli authorities have consistently refused to grant Kharouf a long-term residency permit, forcing him to get fresh tourist visas each year.
While Kharouf holds a Jordanian passport that allows him to travel to neighboring Arab states, it does not give him citizenship or residency rights in Jordan.
Kharouf has worked for Anadolu as a photojournalist since last August, Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency further reports.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
5 july 2019
A Jordanian parliamentary delegation on Wednesday withdrew from the annual five-day conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is being held in Luxembourg.
The Jordanian delegation, led by assistant speaker of the house of representatives MP Ibrahim Al-Qar'an, withdrew from the first day of the conference to protest against the seating of its delegation site next to lawmakers from the Israeli occupation state.
It is not clear if the Jordanian delegation will attend the remaining days of the conference or not.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is meeting for its 28th annual session in Luxembourg on 4-8 July 2019, which is held under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Development to Promote Security.”
Al-Qar'an said the Jordanian delegation withdrew after he was surprised that the seat allocated to him was at the same table prepared for the Israeli delegation.
The Jordanians made several attempts to convince the organizers of the conference to change the seat of their delegation or to remove the Israeli delegation, but their request was declined.
Al-Qar'an said that despite the delegation's keenness on attending the conference, the principle of not sitting next to Israelis "came from our principles, morals and our religion that does not allow us to sit with people from the Zionist entity that has usurped our holy places.”
The Jordanian delegation, led by assistant speaker of the house of representatives MP Ibrahim Al-Qar'an, withdrew from the first day of the conference to protest against the seating of its delegation site next to lawmakers from the Israeli occupation state.
It is not clear if the Jordanian delegation will attend the remaining days of the conference or not.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is meeting for its 28th annual session in Luxembourg on 4-8 July 2019, which is held under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Development to Promote Security.”
Al-Qar'an said the Jordanian delegation withdrew after he was surprised that the seat allocated to him was at the same table prepared for the Israeli delegation.
The Jordanians made several attempts to convince the organizers of the conference to change the seat of their delegation or to remove the Israeli delegation, but their request was declined.
Al-Qar'an said that despite the delegation's keenness on attending the conference, the principle of not sitting next to Israelis "came from our principles, morals and our religion that does not allow us to sit with people from the Zionist entity that has usurped our holy places.”
15 june 2019
Jordan’s King Abdullah is reacting angrily to any suggestion that he might accept a US peace deal that would make his country a homeland for Palestinians.
Speaking to the armed forces, he rejected the idea of Jordan as an alternative state for Palestinians, saying: “Don’t we have a voice in the end?”
Already facing economic discontent at home, Abdullah must navigate diplomatic moves by his US allies that are upturning a regional status-quo that has underpinned Jordan’s internal politics and foreign relations for decades.
After Israel’s creation in 1948, Jordan absorbed more Palestinians than any other country, with some estimates that they now account for more than half the population.
Any changes to the international consensus on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and Palestinian refugees’ right of return to what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories, long buttressed by US policy, therefore reverberate harder in Jordan than anywhere else.
US President Donald Trump’s long-promised “Deal of the Century” to resolve the conflict is still a secret, though leaked details suggest it dumps the idea of a full Palestinian state in favor of limited self-rule in part of the Occupied Territories, which would undermine Palestinians’ right to return.
It envisages an expansion of Gaza into part of northern Egypt, under Egyptian control, with Palestinians also having a smaller share of the West Bank and some areas on the outskirts of Jerusalem and no control over their borders, the leaks say.
Jordanian fears about what the plan portends for the region, for their Palestinian citizens, and for the politics of their own country, have been aggravated by Trump’s readiness to upturn US policy.
American officials deny contemplating making Jordan a Palestinian homeland, pushing it to take a role in governing parts of the West Bank or challenging the right of King Abdullah’s dynasty to custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites.
But, Trump’s radical approach to the issue, and recent statements by his ambassador to Israel, that it had a right to annex some of the West Bank, have done little to assuage Jordanian concerns.
Few subjects in Jordan are more politically charged than the role, presence and future there of Palestinians. The issue is so sensitive that the government publishes no data on how many of its 8 million citizens are also of Palestinian descent, though a recent US congressional report put it at more than half.
Despite the US denials, Jordanians fear that Trump is returning to an old Israeli theme: that Jordan is Palestine and that is where the Palestinians of the West Bank should go.
It could not have come at a worse time for the 57-year-old Abdullah, whose country is facing economic challenges that led to protests and a change of government last year.
While many Palestinians are integrated in Jordan, and many descendants of refugees have never set foot in their original homeland, some native Jordanians have never acknowledged that they will stay permanently.
They fear Trump’s plan could alter the demography and politics of a nation shaped by the presence of Palestinians, who hold full citizenship but are marginalized and seen as a political threat by some people of Jordanian descent.
But, Abdullah’s decision that Jordan should attend an economic conference that is part of the US plan showed that despite mounting alarm at home, Amman cannot ignore pressure from richer, more powerful allies in the West and the Gulf.
Maintaining unity between citizens of Jordanian and Palestinian descent has been critical to the ruling family’s role as a unifying force in a country where tribal and clan loyalties hold sway.
The king is already facing anger from the “Herak” opposition, drawn from Jordanians of native descent, who say Trump’s plans will tear apart a state patronage system that has cemented their own loyalty to the monarchy.
Retired army officers have held small weekly protests in opposition to a deal.
“No to eroding our national identity and dismantling the state,” said Saad Alaween, a prominent Herak dissident, referring to the deal.
Some warn the monarch not to accept a plan that could give their compatriots of Palestinian origin more political rights in an electoral system tilted in favor of native Jordanians.
Rumors that the plan could lead to Jordan taking in Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Syria, or that it would merge with a rump of Palestinian territory in bits of the West Bank, have also led to alarm.
In a sign of his concerns, the king has even met lawmakers from the once outcast hardliner movement in an attempt, say officials, to win the backing of the largest opposition grouping with support in large cities and Palestinian camps.
Abdullah also inspired a shake-up in the intelligence establishment — long seen as a guardian of Jordan’s stability — to solidify the internal front and mitigate any fallout from the deal in the months to come, insiders say.
In the army — whose loyalty to the crown is deeply meshed with Jordanian national identity — there are also signs of concern.
“Jordan is a country that has sovereignty and history, and will say its word at the right moment,” said General Mahmoud al-Friehat, the army’s chief of staff.
~Reuters/Days of Palestine
Speaking to the armed forces, he rejected the idea of Jordan as an alternative state for Palestinians, saying: “Don’t we have a voice in the end?”
Already facing economic discontent at home, Abdullah must navigate diplomatic moves by his US allies that are upturning a regional status-quo that has underpinned Jordan’s internal politics and foreign relations for decades.
After Israel’s creation in 1948, Jordan absorbed more Palestinians than any other country, with some estimates that they now account for more than half the population.
Any changes to the international consensus on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and Palestinian refugees’ right of return to what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories, long buttressed by US policy, therefore reverberate harder in Jordan than anywhere else.
US President Donald Trump’s long-promised “Deal of the Century” to resolve the conflict is still a secret, though leaked details suggest it dumps the idea of a full Palestinian state in favor of limited self-rule in part of the Occupied Territories, which would undermine Palestinians’ right to return.
It envisages an expansion of Gaza into part of northern Egypt, under Egyptian control, with Palestinians also having a smaller share of the West Bank and some areas on the outskirts of Jerusalem and no control over their borders, the leaks say.
Jordanian fears about what the plan portends for the region, for their Palestinian citizens, and for the politics of their own country, have been aggravated by Trump’s readiness to upturn US policy.
American officials deny contemplating making Jordan a Palestinian homeland, pushing it to take a role in governing parts of the West Bank or challenging the right of King Abdullah’s dynasty to custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites.
But, Trump’s radical approach to the issue, and recent statements by his ambassador to Israel, that it had a right to annex some of the West Bank, have done little to assuage Jordanian concerns.
Few subjects in Jordan are more politically charged than the role, presence and future there of Palestinians. The issue is so sensitive that the government publishes no data on how many of its 8 million citizens are also of Palestinian descent, though a recent US congressional report put it at more than half.
Despite the US denials, Jordanians fear that Trump is returning to an old Israeli theme: that Jordan is Palestine and that is where the Palestinians of the West Bank should go.
It could not have come at a worse time for the 57-year-old Abdullah, whose country is facing economic challenges that led to protests and a change of government last year.
While many Palestinians are integrated in Jordan, and many descendants of refugees have never set foot in their original homeland, some native Jordanians have never acknowledged that they will stay permanently.
They fear Trump’s plan could alter the demography and politics of a nation shaped by the presence of Palestinians, who hold full citizenship but are marginalized and seen as a political threat by some people of Jordanian descent.
But, Abdullah’s decision that Jordan should attend an economic conference that is part of the US plan showed that despite mounting alarm at home, Amman cannot ignore pressure from richer, more powerful allies in the West and the Gulf.
Maintaining unity between citizens of Jordanian and Palestinian descent has been critical to the ruling family’s role as a unifying force in a country where tribal and clan loyalties hold sway.
The king is already facing anger from the “Herak” opposition, drawn from Jordanians of native descent, who say Trump’s plans will tear apart a state patronage system that has cemented their own loyalty to the monarchy.
Retired army officers have held small weekly protests in opposition to a deal.
“No to eroding our national identity and dismantling the state,” said Saad Alaween, a prominent Herak dissident, referring to the deal.
Some warn the monarch not to accept a plan that could give their compatriots of Palestinian origin more political rights in an electoral system tilted in favor of native Jordanians.
Rumors that the plan could lead to Jordan taking in Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Syria, or that it would merge with a rump of Palestinian territory in bits of the West Bank, have also led to alarm.
In a sign of his concerns, the king has even met lawmakers from the once outcast hardliner movement in an attempt, say officials, to win the backing of the largest opposition grouping with support in large cities and Palestinian camps.
Abdullah also inspired a shake-up in the intelligence establishment — long seen as a guardian of Jordan’s stability — to solidify the internal front and mitigate any fallout from the deal in the months to come, insiders say.
In the army — whose loyalty to the crown is deeply meshed with Jordanian national identity — there are also signs of concern.
“Jordan is a country that has sovereignty and history, and will say its word at the right moment,” said General Mahmoud al-Friehat, the army’s chief of staff.
~Reuters/Days of Palestine
