Jordan warns Israel of ‘catastrophic consequences' if al-Aqsa mosque stormed again
Jordan's King Abdullah II said there would be "catastrophic consequences" if Israeli forces were to storm the al-Aqsa mosque again.
CNN
Jordan warned that a second Israeli assault on the al-Aqsa Mosque would have 'catastrophic' consequences.
If the Israeli police 'assaults worshipers again in an effort to empty [the] mosque of worshipers in preparation for major invasions into the mosque', it will 'push situation towards tension and violence for which everyone would pay the price', the Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Ambassador Sinan al-Majali said in a late Saturday night local time statement.
Al-Majali stated that 'the Israeli government is responsible for the escalation of violence in Jerusalem and all the occupied Palestinian territory and for the worsening of the situation if they do not stop their incursions in the holy al-Aqsa Mosque... and terrorizing worshipers during these blessed days'.
Early on Sunday morning, Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a statement that echoed the warning of Jordan, saying people who 'barricade themselves inside [the al-Aqsa Mosque] are a danger mob radicalized and incited Hamas and by other terror groups'.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has called on Jordanian Waqf guards to remove the extremists from the al-Aqsa Mosque who plan to riot on Sunday during Muslim prayers at the Temple Mount, and the Priestly Blessing on the Western Wall.
The Waqf, a Jordan-appointed organization that oversees the al-Aqsa compound of the mosque known by Jews as Temple Mount, is responsible for managing the al-Aqsa complex.
Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque twice on Wednesday of last week. They claimed that ‘hundreds (of) rioters and mosque desecrators had barricaded' themselves inside.
The Israeli police claimed again on Saturday night that'many youths [had] entered and closed the mosque doors without reason'