Judeh meets Kerry over Jerusalem, region in Paris

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed in Paris on Wednesday the “grave violations against the holy sites in Jerusalem, especially against Al Haram Al Sharif in the holy city”.

In remarks to the press, Judeh said that the decision to call the ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations was taken after the government decided that “what we have seen in Al Aqsa Mosque compound — not just in the last 24 hours, but over the last period — and in general is just way beyond the limits”, according to the transcript of the press conference provided by the US embassy in Amman.

“We have sent repeated messages to Israel directly and indirectly that Jerusalem is a red line, and these continuous violations and incursions, and stopping people from worshipping freely and allowing extremists to come in under the protection of Israeli police, and so many other violations, we have said that this is a red line.” 

“And Jordan, His Majesty the King, is the custodian of Christian and Muslim holy places in Jerusalem, and these violations are infuriating the emotions and the sensitivity of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world,” Judeh added.

He said the decision to summon the envoy is “an indication of the seriousness of the situation. Calm has to be restored, Israel has to respect the sanctity of the holy sites, and I think this will resonate today”.

For his part, Kerry urged all parties “to try to step back and find a way to create enough calm and enough space to be able to negotiate these difficult issues. None of them lend themselves to unilateral resolution,”

Stopping short of commenting on the Israeli violations at the sacred sites in East Jerusalem, Kerry condemned “today’s terrorist act of somebody driving in another car into innocent people standing on the roadside. That is not just a terrorist act and an… atrocity, but it only makes matters worse. It only raises tensions”.

During their talks in Paris, Judeh asserted that the escalating violations exercised by Israel against Al Aqsa Mosque are utterly rejected, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Judeh highlighted that the Israeli occupation forces’ raid of Al Aqsa Mosque Tuesday night and at dawn on Wednesday and the use of rubber bullets and tear gas had inflicted damages to the shrine, including the burning of the mosque carpets and the destroying of its pillars. Such a grave escalation has prompted a firm and clear Jordanian decision, the foreign minister was quoted as saying. 

He reiterated that Jordan would file an official complaint at the UN Security Council regarding these violations. 

During his talks with Kerry, Judeh provided his US peer a dossier documenting the Israeli acts of aggression, provocative behaviours and continued violations, which, he said, constitute a stark breach of international law and norms, according to Petra.

Furthermore, the two sides reviewed the efforts exerted to confront terrorist and radical groups, as well as the latest developments in Syria, stressing the need to arrive at a political solution for the Syrian crisis that guarantees the security and the safety of Syria and its territorial integrity.