Jordan has warned that Israel is on the verge of changing the status quo at one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites and could trigger a religious conflict, according to a report.
The Jordanian government will hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world on Wednesday, as they look to address repeated incursions by Jewish religious hardliners into the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock compound. The compound is known to Jews as Temple Mount and is their most important holy site.
Speaking to The Guardian, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Sadafi said: “This is a constant threat, a dangerous threat that we’re trying to counter in every tool that we have possible. We warn that tampering with the status quo … could trigger a religious conflict that will reverberate beyond Palestine and Jordan into the whole Muslim world.”
Hardline Israeli government ministers, including police minister Itamar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, have frequently called for the site to be taken over by the Israeli state with the construction of a synagogue on its grounds.
On 23 July, Ben Gvir joined thousands of Jewish religious hardliners as they entered the site, escorted by police, praying, waving the Israeli flag and singing the national anthem. The move was described by Amman as “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had previously responded to visits by Ben Gvir to the site by saying there is no change in Israeli policy of maintaining the status quo there.
The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif site is administered by the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf under a decades-old status quo arrangement, while Israel controls security and access to the compound.
This year, dozens of Muslim mosque staff had their entry permits revoked, an Imam was arrested by Israeli police during Friday prayers, and the frequency of Jewish groups entering the site has increased.
Wednesday’s meeting will be attended by foreign ministers from Arab League countries along with representatives from Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, Mr Safadi said.
“Jerusalem is a tinderbox,” he said. “We’re trying to explain the danger. We’re protesting legally. We are trying to create awareness of the imminent danger in the continuation of those Israeli measures.
Amman fears a dramatic upscaling of what it claims is an ethnic cleansing campaign by Israel in the West Bank ahead of the October elections, the outlet reported. With the possibility of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government being ousted from power, its far-right elements may attempt to establish dramatic and lasting changes.
Mr Safadi raised concerns of a mass deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank, in the worst case scenario, which could see a stream of Palestinian refugees enter Jordan causing instability in the country.
“Our position that this is a red line that we will not allow to be crossed. We have made that known to everybody that we will do whatever it takes to prevent any attempt at Israeli displacement of Palestinians into Jordan,” he added.
“Not only will that be a violation of international law and of the right of the Palestinians to stay on their land, but that will also be a tremendous escalation.”
This article was amended on 6 August 2026 to reflect the significance of the site to Judaism.
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