Jason Greenblatt, who served as former US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, on Tuesday responded to Jordan’s demands that the status quo on the Temple Mount be respected.
“When I worked at the White House no one (not US govt or anyone relevant in the region) agreed on/could define the ‘status quo’ (legal, historical or otherwise),” tweeted Greenblatt.
“What we should agree on is that Israel does its best under tough circumstances to protect safety & allow freedom of worship,” he added.
Greenblatt was responding to a statement issued by the Royal Court in Jordan following a phone call between King Abdullah II and US President Joe Biden.
The White House said following the call that “President Biden told King Abdullah of Jordan there is a need to preserve the status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He welcomed recent steps to reduce tensions and expressed his hope that the final week of Ramadan will pass peacefully.”
The conversation between Biden and King Abdullah took place following clashes on the Temple Mount between Israeli security forces and Arab worshipers who attacked them with rocks and fireworks and tried to harm the police officers from within the mosque.
Last week, Jordan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement warning that alleged "continued encroachments of Israel that are designed to alter the historic status quo at the Al Aqsa Mosque are causing a dangerous escalation."
That same day, Jordan abruptly closed its entry and exit points, leaving hundreds of Israelis stranded and unable to return home.
Meanwhile, at a parliamentary session, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh encouraged violence towards Israelis, saying, "I congratulate all Palestinians and all Jordanian Islamic Waqf workers who stand as tall as a turret and those who throw stones at pro-Zionists who defile the al-Aqsa Mosque in the security of the Israeli occupation government."