Amman, March 01: Jordan’s King Abdallah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday urged an “immediate and effective” intervention by the world community to protect holy shrines in East Jerusalem, which they said were threatened by Israeli “unilateral measures.”
Making a stopover in Amman from a European tour, Abbas briefed King Abdallah on the outcome of his talks with European leaders and latest developments of the US effort to ensure a resumption of peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, according to a royal court statement.
The two leaders also discussed the implications of the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem by Israeli troops earlier Sunday and a recent decision by Israel to add two West Bank mosques to the list of Jewish heritage places.
“King Abdallah underscored the necessity of the world community taking immediate and effective steps to protect the holy places in East Jerusalem against unilateral Israeli measures which seek to change the identity of the holy city,” the statement said.
“Such steps represent a dangerous provocation that threatens all efforts being exerted for achieving peace in the region,” the monarch added.
“Jordan also rejects and condemns the Israeli decision to add Haram Al-Ibrahimi and the Belal Mosque to the list of Jewish heritage sites,” the monarch said.
Haram Al-Ibrahimi is the Islamic name given to the Cave of Patriarchs in Hebron, while the Bilal Mosque, near Bethlehem, is known as the Tomb of Rachel.
In remarks to reporters after the meeting, Abbas reiterated the warning he issued during his European trip that the latest Israeli step could “ignite a religious war.”
He urged the entire world, including the United States and the European Union, to condemn the Israeli moves, which he said were derailing the peace process.
“The world community particularly the United States, as peace broker, should stop Israel, because statements of condemnations are insufficient,” Abbas said.
He said that he intended to present to the Arab follow-up committee, which comprises Arab foreign ministers, the latest US proposal for holding indirect talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
“I have promised Arab countries to bring anything pertaining to the convening or stopping negotiations to the Arab League panel so that the decision be theirs,” he added.
——-Agencies