JORDAN EXPELS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR DANIEL NEVO
Amman, 6 Rajab 1434/17 May 20013 (MINA) – Jordan’s Minister for Information and Communication, Mohammed al-Momani, last Thursday officially announced the departure of the Israeli ambassador to Amman, Daniel Nevo.
In a press conference held on Wednesday evening, Al-Momani said that the acting Foreign Minister, Hussein al-Majali, had summoned Nevo last Thursday, according to Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and Middle East Online reports monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
Al-Majali passed on information on the Amman protest against the Israeli violation in Jerusalem, settlers attack on worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the detention of the mufti Sheikh Mohammed Hussein.
In the wake of the wide-spread Israeli attacks on Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque that began the last week, Jordanian parliament approved a resolution last Wednesday to expel the Israeli ambassador to Amman and to summon the Jordanian ambassador to Tel-Aviv.
One of the parliamentarians called for the Jordanian king to declare war on Israeli in protest at the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the continuous invasions of the mosque by settlers.
Jordanian parliament approves expulsion
MPs in Jordan on Wednesday unanimously demanded the government expel Israeli Ambassador Daniel Nevo after detectives in Israel detained top Islamic cleric the mufti of Jerusalem, state media reported.
“The (150-member) lower house of parliament unanimously demanded the government ask the Israeli ambassador to leave Jordan, and recall the Jordanian ambassador in Israel,” Walid Obeidat, the official Petra news agency said.
The non-binding vote came in response to “Israeli occupation measures at Al-Aqsa mosque” in the Old City, in the annexed eastern sector of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur told the MPs that his government “views the Israeli violations in a very serious way.”
Nsur added that the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv “will take all necessary measures to respond to these hideous crimes.”
“If things develop, the government will ask the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting.”
Israeli police questioned Hussein on Wednesday over a “disturbance” at Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Hussein was taken from his home by detectives to a police station “on suspicion of involvement in a disturbance” at the compound a day earlier, he added.
Mohammed Qudah, Jordan’s Islamic affairs minister, said: “Israel has prevented worshippers from entering the mosque. It plans to build a bridge to link Al-Aqsa to some nearby settlements.”
“Israeli excavations around the mosque have noticeably increased. Around 62 synagogues have been built around Al-Aqsa to form a circle around it,” Petra quoted him as saying.
Qudah added that “the most dangerous development was when hundreds of settlers backed by the Israel army entered Al-Aqsa this morning.”
“At the same time waqf (Islamic affairs) officials were prevented from going to their work, while materials needed for maintenance of the mosque were not allowed,” he said.
The site, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques, and is also venerated by Jews as the place where their two ancient temples once stood.
Some MPs demanded Jordan scrap its 1994 peace agreement with Israel, according to Petra, but a statement by the parliament did not mention the treaty.
“The lower house of parliament condemns Israel’s dangerous escalation. Its repercussions will impact the entire region and create a new cycle of violence, insecurity and instability,” the MPs said in a statement.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas inked a March deal with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, confirming a 1924 verbal agreement giving Amman custodianship over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem. (T/P08/E1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
