Jordan is widely accepted as the guardian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, retaining custodial rights over the al-Aksa Mosque complex as part of its 1994 peace agreement with Israel.
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Between August 2 and 8, OCHA said, “in 14 separate incidents in Area C and east Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities destroyed, forced owners to destroy, or confiscated 42 structures for lack of building permits, displacing 30 people”.
Revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the mosque compound is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the worldwide community.
Tensions with Jordan have flared again after disturbances on Har HaBayis during Tisha B’Av when hundreds of Jews visited the site and Muslims there clashed with Israel police.
Awqaf Minister Wael Arabiyat voiced Jordan’s denunciation of the transgression, when more than 400 extremists barged into the compound on Sunday, according to a ministry statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
Arabiyat also denounced Israeli police for allegedly “arresting and beating” Muslim worshippers at the site.
The report calls the visits “Israeli assaults against the Al Aqsa Mosque”, and claims the Jews who visited the site were “ultra-Orthodox”. In 2009, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed to not building any new settlements after harsh criticism from the global community.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move never recognised by the global community.
In Washington, the US State Department said it was anxious about Israeli plans to raze the tiny Palestinian village of Susiya, in the southern West Bank.
“Failure to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue and allowing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to move away from the two-state solution feeds violence and extremism in the region”, he said.
Palestinian leaders say a younger generation sees no hope for the future living under Israeli security restrictions and with a stifled economy.
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Ariel, who held a dual U.S.
