The Ra’am Party, which represents the southern faction of the Islamic Movement in the Knesset, on Tuesday condemned the Israeli treatment of the Jordanian Ambassador who came to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
A statement published on behalf of the party said that its chairman, Mansour Abbas, contacted the Jordanian Ambassador, Ghassan Majali, "after he was prevented from entering the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque today", adding that Abbas "rejects and condemns this illegal move".
Abbas stressed the "rooted right of Arabs and Muslims to enter the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and pray there at any time" and expressed opposition to the attempts of the new government in Israel and the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, to enforce a new policy preventing or allowing Arab ambassadors to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque, similar to the policy enacted towards the Arab members of the Knesset.
The statement further said that Ra’am condemns the Israeli effort to establish facts on the ground, perpetuate the occupation and exercise sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and calls on the Israeli government to respect the Hashemite guardianship of the holy site and the Islamic right to it, and not to infringe on the right of Muslims to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and visit it at any time.
The statement followed Tuesday’s diplomatic incident at the Temple Mount. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Israeli Ambassador to Jordan, claiming Ambassador Majali was temporarily delayed from ascending the Temple Mount before leaving the site.
The Jerusalem Police rejected the claims that the Jordanian Ambassador was prevented from entering the Temple Mount, and pointed out that the director of the Jordanian Waqf arrived together with the Ambassador without any prior coordination with the police, and he was the one who decided at a certain point to leave the place on his own initiative.
The Ra’am statement said that Ambassador Majali told Abbas that he has been periodically visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque for the past four years and there has never been any problem or demand for permission to visit as was demanded this time. The Ambassador said he does not accept the Israeli position demanding approval or setting conditions for visiting the site.