It is rare for a leader of a sovereign state, who is generally considered serious, to succeed in raising eyebrows among many, as has happened in the last two weeks to the King of Jordan. Abdullah II, moderate, serious and sane, launched a rebuke campaign against Israel following the events of the Temple Mount. Then it cooled down a bit, but the perplexity remained. Strange, maybe a little disturbing. Precisely less because of him.
The recent tension on the Temple Mount has been particularly worrying. It worried not only the king, but also two of his partners in dealing with the Palestinian problem: the PA in Ramallah and Israel. The combination of Ramadan and Pesach, together with Hamas’ desire to take over Jerusalem, seemed a sure recipe for an explosion a month ago.
Extremists in East Jerusalem will unite with Jewish extremists, and with the encouragement of Hamas, will raise Jerusalem above all our joy. In Amman, what is happening in al-Aqsa is always monitored for fear of the riots spreading to them, but not just because of it. The Hashemite family is the official guardian on behalf of the Muslim world over the holy place. Since the establishment of the Kingdom of Jordan, the place has been entrusted to her, and from the moment she signed a peace agreement with Israel, Israel restored her special status on the Temple Mount. This status placed great responsibility on the royal house, but also gave it a high status among the Arabs.
In the weeks leading up to Ramadan, King and Abu Mazen held vigorous talks to prevent deterioration. At its peak, Abdullah II arrived in Ramallah for a face-to-face consultation. Even then she felt some urgency in the two. They tried to recruit Defense Minister Ganz and their colleagues in the Shin Bet to understand the urgency and work to reduce the chances of a flare-up. The king and the Rais have been coordinating for years. They are also very friendly, and Abdullah appreciates Abu Mazen and treats him as a father.
They both saw with concern the three assassination attempts of Arabs in Israeli territory – in Be’er Sheva, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv – and felt that the dizziness began to move. Ramadan will soon arrive, followed by Passover, followed by demonstrations of rage in Amman, rioting in Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, the entry of IDF forces into Palestinian cities, and from there until the distance is short.
On the second Friday of Ramadan, April 15, the Jordanian palace was still building on Israel to take over the situation, but then a protest began to intensify on the streets of the cities in Jordan. In Amman, they initiated a conscious operation. Four days after that Friday, the Prime Minister of Jordan, Besher Al-Hassuna, appeared before Parliament and saluted the stone-throwers in Jerusalem. Israel’s deputy ambassador to Jordan, Sami Abu Janab, was called for a reprimand call at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, and the king himself, in a conversation with Sisi, accused Israel of creating provocation. All this within a few hours of Tuesday. The Jordanian protest has achieved its thing. The headlines she gave to Israel were fat.
Those who read between the lines found an interesting tuffin in the official announcement that came out of Jordan following the summons of the Israeli diplomat. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern, for the first time, about Israel’s intentions to divide the holy compound on the Temple Mount. Allocate its share to the Jews, and the rest to the Muslims, and set limited times for prayer for each side. This concern has been repeated many times by senior Jordanian officials. It expressed concern about a serious change in the status quo on the Temple Mount, and in fact accused Israel of a serious provocation that would prepare the ground for a major explosion.
The Palestinian Authority has united with the Jordanians, echoing this scenario in its official announcements. The king was not content with that. He called most of the leaders of the Arab countries, told them about the danger that was getting excited for everyone, and demanded that they press Israel to withdraw from these plans.
Like a tailor-made tender
Fulfilled if this accusation rested on solid foundations. But she was not like that. In fact, it is an excessive and baseless Palestinian-Jordanian anxiety. But she began to gain momentum, and since she came from a royal rank, she enjoyed great credibility. Israel realized that the scenario promoted by the Jordanians could gain momentum, and launched a counterterrorism operation. The goal: to prove we do not have a sister. Prime Minister Bennett, Foreign Minister Lapid and Defense Minister Gantz have announced one after another that Israel has no intention of changing anything in the status quo. Lapid convened foreign ambassadors and pledged to them that there was no such plan.
Just a day after that stormy Tuesday, a delegation from the State Department (Washington State) arrived in the area in Washington to examine the tension closely. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s envoys wondered to the Jordanians where they had drawn the alarming version from. Under pressure from the guests, Amman dropped her claim regarding Israel’s intentions to divide the Temple Mount.
The Jordanian king should not be suspected of having an improper understanding of reality. And yet, he marketed his hasty stance to all his Arab brethren from the Gulf to the ocean. One possibility is that the king was misled by Abu Mazen. The Authority is well aware of the reality in the Cave of the Patriarchs, which was divided between believers in the two religions, and believes that the same model may, under pressure from extremists who seize power, be applied to the Temple Mount. Abu Mazen’s advisers saw how more Jews than ever were able to climb the Temple Mount and pray on it, unlike in previous years, and came to the wrong conclusion.
The second option is a little more worrying. From time to time, a demand arises in Israel to grant Saudi Arabia the guardianship of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In our distress, we come up with creative solutions. Sometimes too creative. In Amman they are taken seriously. Jordan fears that Israel may, in exchange for establishing relations with the House of Saud, give the Saudis al-Aqsa as a gift. Whether it is at the expense of the Jordanians, or whether it is by their side. When the king leads a patriotic campaign designed to save al-Aqsa from the greed of the Jews, he strengthens his position and scores points over those who claim the property. Hamas, Turkey, and of course Saudi Arabia.
In his efforts to garner sympathy for his campaign on the division of the Temple Mount, Abdullah has succeeded in harnessing the UAE. Alongside Jordan, Abu Dhabi was the only one to summon the Israeli ambassador to a protest call. The UAE has its own reasons for being patriotic towards Jerusalem and the Palestinian problem. These are two hot issues, which they, its rulers, have distanced themselves from over the years, or developed an indifferent attitude towards.
Instead, they brought Israel closer to them, and alienated the PA and Hamas. Now that al-Aqsa is in apparent danger, this is an opportunity to mobilize to defend it. This is how the UAE has benefited twice. It has accumulated several points on the Arab street, stood by Jordan in the current crisis, overshadowing the Saudi option.
The talk in Israel about granting the deposit in al-Aqsa to Saudi Arabia is an unbaked idea, which is currently taking place in political salons, and less so among decision-makers. If this option is seriously raised in the coming years, tensions are expected not only between Israel and Jordan, but also between the Arabs and themselves. It would be like a tailor-made tender for a highly coveted job. One that reopens after anniversaries, but will only be guaranteed to associates.
The author is the commentator on Arab affairs of Gali Tzahal