Western wall and the Temple Mount
Western wall and the Temple MountMati Amar/TPS

Jordan on Sunday condemned an Israeli court decision which said that Jews are permitted to recite the Shema Yisrael prayer and bow while visiting the Temple Mount.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abu Al-Foul said in a statement quoted by the Xinhua news agency that the decision is null and void.

He added that it "lacks legal status under international law that does not recognize Israeli jurisdiction on territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem."

Abu Al-Foul stressed that the decision is considered a blatant breach of international legitimacy resolutions related to Jerusalem, including the UN Security Council resolutions that urge all to maintain the status quo of the holy city.

He also stressed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is "a place of worship for Muslims only," and the Jordan-run Department of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs is the only institution for administering the affairs of the mosque.

Earlier on Sunday, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that Jews are allowed to recite the "Shema" prayer and bow during visits to the Temple Mount.

The unusual ruling by the Court was made following an appeal against the arrest of three teenaged boys who bowed and recited "Shema Yisrael" while visiting the Temple Mount area.

The teens were arrested by police last week and given a 15-day restraining order from the Old City, due to the fact that they bowed and prayed inside the Temple Mount. The police's claim in the application for the restrictive conditions is that their conduct may lead to a violation of public order.

The teens filed an appeal against the order and Jerusalem Magistrates Judge Zion Saharai ordered the end of restrictive conditions imposed on them by the police.

Saharai wrote in his ruling, "In my opinion, it is not possible to say that bowing and reciting Shema holds a reasonable suspicion of conduct that may lead to a breach of peace, as required by law. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which shouting ‘Shema Yisrael’ on the Temple Mount would constitute a criminal offense of an act that could lead to a breach of the peace."