On video: The tensions in Jerusalem: hundreds went up to the Temple Mount, thousands at the blessing of the priests (Roni Knafo)
Last week's tensions around the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) further exacerbated the crisis in relations between Israel and Jordan.
Senior Israeli officials accuse Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi of not acting to calm the situation.
"He behaved like the great son of Jordan," said an Israeli senior official.
"The tensions exacerbated the crisis with Jordan."
Jewish worshipers on the Temple Mount (Photo: Reuters)
why is it important:
King Abdullah II of Jordan is the patron of the holy places for Muslims in Jerusalem.
Due to the fact that Jordan has a very large Palestinian population, any escalation in Jerusalem, and especially in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, becomes an internal political issue in the kingdom and leads to tensions with Israel.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, also known as the Haram Al-Sharif, is the third most important holy place for Muslims.
The complex is the holiest place for the Jews, who call it the Temple Mount, because this is the area where the Temple stood two thousand years ago.
This reality made it one of the most religiously, politically and security sensitive and explosive places in the Middle East.
After the government was sworn in, King Abdullah tried to turn a new page with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even invited him to a meeting in his palace.
Despite this, relations between the Jordanian government and the new government in Jerusalem quickly deteriorated following a series of steps and statements by senior Israeli ministers.
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In the news center:
Israel, Jordan, the United States and other factors in the region worked towards the month of Ramadan and Passover to reduce tensions on the Temple Mount.
The first two weeks of Ramadan passed relatively quietly, but the situation escalated last week when the police broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque to evict Palestinians barricaded there.
Video footage of Israeli police officers beating Palestinians inside the mosque was circulated on social media and provoked great anger in the Arab world and especially in Jordan.
The Jordanian government strongly condemned Israel and accused it of responsibility for the escalation.
In the last ten days, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published about 11 messages and tweets that condemned Israel or criticized its policy on the Temple Mount.
The Jordanians initiated an emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic States regarding the situation in Jerusalem.
The Jordanians also pushed for a meeting of the Security Council on the issue of escalation in Jerusalem.
Senior Israeli and American officials said that a Security Council press release against Israel last week was blocked at the last minute by the United States.
The big picture:
Tensions between Jordan and Israel have escalated in the past week, with each side publishing messages to the media accusing the other of being responsible for the escalation.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a series of interviews in the international and Arab media and accused Israel of provocation against Palestinian worshipers.
"Israel is pushing us into the abyss of violence and undermining the peace agreement with Jordan," Spadi told CNN last Thursday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem responded with tweets on Twitter in which it claimed that the Jordanian Waqf that manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque did nothing to prevent violence from the Palestinian worshippers.
"We are calling on Jordan through the guardians of the Waqf to remove from the mosque the extremists who plan to commit riots," the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote in a tweet on Saturday night, a few hours before the beginning of the blessing of the priests at the Western Wall.
Behind the Scenes:
Senior Israeli officials specifically cited the statements and conduct of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi as a source of tension.
According to them, the meetings that took place between Spadi and senior Israeli officials before Ramadan were very good, but as soon as tensions began, the Jordanian minister took an extreme line.
"Safadi behaved like Jordan's son-in-law," said a senior Israeli, while comparing the conduct of the Jordanian foreign minister to the provocations and extreme statements of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which increased tensions in Jerusalem.
Senior officials in the American administration said that Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi was enraged by the events on the Temple Mount and saw the police break into the mosque as a provocation on the part of the Israeli government.
Senior Israeli officials have asked the United States and the United Arab Emirates to ask the Jordanian government, and especially Safadi, to calm down the statements and work together to calm the situation, said senior American and Israeli officials briefed on the issue.
Senior American and Jordanian officials stated that Spadi asked the Biden administration and the United Arab Emirates to convey the same message to Israel.
At one point the Jordanians refused to receive messages from Israel through the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
They claimed that Israel is lying about the events at Al-Aqsa Mosque and emphasized that they would be willing to receive messages from Israel only directly and only on the condition that the message would include taking Israeli responsibility for the escalation and a commitment to stop violating the status quo in the Temple Mount complex.
The United States and Israel were very worried that, due to the tensions with Jordan, it would not be possible to prevent a fire on the Temple Mount last Sunday during the blessing of the priests at the Western Wall, but in the end both the prayers of the Muslims and the prayers of the Jews passed that day in a calm manner.
The Palestinians did not use violence and the police did not break into the mosque.
"The Israelis told the United States in recent days that the fact that no explosion occurred is due to the Biden administration's pressure on the Jordanians and the Waqf. The Jordanians, on the other hand, told the United States that the fact that no explosion occurred is due to the Biden administration's pressure on Israel," said a source with close knowledge of the issue.
The situation:
Senior Israeli officials said that in recent days Jordanian Foreign Minister Spadi refuses to speak with representatives of the Israeli government and that tensions with the Jordanians are still very high.
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