Just four days after King Abdullah II issued an ultimatum to a group within Jordanian society that promotes the possibility of Jordan becoming an alternative homeland to the Palestinians, the Lower House of Parliament adopted a unanimous decision to expel the Israeli ambassador in Amman and recall Jordan’s envoy in Tel Aviv. The decision was a response to ongoing deliberations in the Israeli Knesset over ending the Hashemite guardianship over Muslim and Christian shrines in occupied East Jerusalem and replacing it with Israeli custody. Some Israeli lawmakers want to pass a resolution allowing Jews to perform prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while others want unfettered access to the mosque itself.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that it does not support moves to end Jordan’s custody of religious sites in East Jerusalem. But various Jewish groups have been allowed to visit Al-Aqsa under police protection, triggering reactions from Palestinians and Jordanians. On Feb. 25, angry Muslim worshipers at Al-Aqsa clashed with Israeli security, raising fears that Israel was about to change the status quo there in anticipation of a US-brokered peace deal.
It was not the first time that Jordan’s parliament has called on the government to expel the Israeli ambassador. It made a similar move last May, but on Feb. 26, the speaker of the Lower House, Atef al-Tarawneh, warned the government not to ignore this latest decision. The question is: How binding is the Lower House’s vote? Government spokesman Mohammad al-Moumani told CNN Arabic that the government respects the decisions of the Lower House and will deal with them from a constitutional standpoint.
Other Jordanian deputies have signed a petition calling for the abrogation of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty if the latter adopts a bill to end Jordan’s guardianship in East Jerusalem. That special role for Jordan is articulated in the 1994 peace treaty, and any unilateral action by Israel to revoke it will be considered a stark violation.
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