Jordan deplores Israel’s digging and construction works at al-Aqsa’s Western Wall

Jordan has lambasted the Israeli regime for its provocative digging and construction works at the al-Aqsa Mosque’s Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.

In a statement on Thursday, spokesman for Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dhaifullah al-Fayez stressed that the Western Wall is an integral part of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which along with the Dome of the Rock Mosque, makes the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Fayez, whose country is the custodian of the holy sites at the compound, added that al-Quds Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department has exclusive jurisdiction, under international law, over all affairs related to the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian Information Center reported.

He stressed that all maintenance and restoration works at the al-Aqsa Mosque, including its walls, are within the exclusive powers of the al-Quds Awqaf.

Israel occupied the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War of 1967. After the end of hostilities, the regime allowed the Waqf to retain authority over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, or the Haram al-Sharif.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Fayez called on Israel to respect its obligations in this regard and immediately halt all digging activities on the site. His ministry, he said, had already sent an official protest letter regarding the issue to the occupying regime.

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Jordan FM: Israeli annexation poses 'unprecedented danger'

Later on Thursday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank, amid mounting tensions between the Palestinian Authority and the Tel Aviv regime over West Bank annexation plans.

Safadi’s rare visit to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, was made by helicopter, and according to Abbas’s office, the talks focused on Israel’s provocative plans to annex settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley.

Israeli annexation plans in the occupied West Bank pose an "unprecedented danger," he was quoted by AFP as telling journalists after his meeting with Abbas.

"The issue of annexation is an unprecedented danger to the peace process," Safadi told journalists, adding, "If annexation occurs, it will kill the [so-called] two-state solution and destroy all the foundations on which the peace process was based."

The Israeli regime was particularly emboldened by American President Donald Trump in January, when he officially unveiled his much-condemned Middle East plan, the so-called deal of the century.

Trump’s scheme, which has already been categorically rejected and condemned by the Palestinians, largely gives in to Israel’s demands while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital” and allowing the regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a number of criminal indictments, has repeatedly said that he would begin cabinet-level discussions for annexing more areas in the West Bank on July 1, in accordance with Trump’s proposal.

In response to Trump’s highly-provocative scheme and Israel’s annexation plans, Abbas declared the end of all agreements signed with Tel Aviv and Washington on May 19.

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Jordan, which has signed a peace agreement with Israel, has already expressed its opposition to Trump’s scheme and Israel’s annexation plan.

Earlier this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II voiced his opposition to the plan during an online meeting with members of the US Congress, telling them annexation is “unacceptable and undermines chances of peace and stability in the region.”

He also emphasized the importance of “establishing an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state.”

According to Trump’s scheme, the future Palestinian state will consist of scattered lands linked together via bridges and tunnels. It will also be demilitarized, meaning it will be subject to Israeli control for security.

President Abbas has already said that the scheme “belongs to the dustbin of history.”

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