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Amman, Jordan CNN —
Jordan’s king says helium is prepared for struggle should the status of Jerusalem’s beatified sites alteration arsenic Israel prepares to curse successful what is apt to beryllium the astir right-wing authorities successful its history.
King Abdullah II told CNN’s Becky Anderson successful an exclusive interrogation this period that determination is “concern” successful his state astir those successful Israel trying to propulsion for changes to his custodianship of the Muslim and Christian beatified sites successful Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, informing that helium has “red lines.”
“If radical privation to get into a struggle with us, we’re rather prepared,” helium said. “I ever similar to judge that, let’s look astatine the solid fractional full, but we person definite reddish lines… And if radical privation to propulsion those reddish lines, past we volition woody with that.”
Israeli person Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming authorities is expected to beryllium the astir right-wing successful Israel’s history and it includes arguable figures who were erstwhile considered to beryllium connected the utmost fringe of Israeli politics. This has caused concerns astir the imaginable for an escalation successful Israeli-Palestinian unit and for the aboriginal of Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors and Western allies.
This twelvemonth was already the deadliest for Palestinians and Israelis successful astir 2 decades, raising the specter of a caller Palestinian uprising against Israel.
“We person to beryllium acrophobic astir a adjacent intifada (uprising),” said the king. “And if that happens, that’s a implicit breakdown of instrumentality and bid and 1 that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians volition payment from. I deliberation determination is simply a batch of interest from each of america successful the region, including those successful Israel that are connected our broadside connected this issue, to marque definite that doesn’t happen.”
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan successful the 1967 warfare but signed a peace pact with it successful 1994 nether which it formally recognized Amman’s peculiar relation astatine the city’s beatified sites. But the 2 person since had an uneasy relationship, with Jordan regularly accusing Israel of violating the statement that gave it power of the sites and barred non-Muslims from praying there.
Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy has been the custodian of Jerusalem’s beatified sites since 1924 and sees itself arsenic the guarantor of the spiritual rights of Muslims and Christians successful the city.
Tensions are highest implicit the compound known to Muslims arsenic the Haram Al Sharif, which is called the Temple Mount by Jews. The tract includes the Al Aqsa Mosque, the 3rd holiest tract successful Islam. The country is besides the holiest tract successful Judaism. Politicians connected the Israeli close often reason that Jews should besides person a close to commune there.
One of the astir arguable figures successful Israel’s incoming authorities is Itamar Ben Gvir, who is acceptable to go the nationalist information curate and presume power implicit the police, including instrumentality enforcement astatine Jerusalem’s beatified sites. Ben Gvir has a agelong history of inciting violence against Palestinians and Arabs. He has been convicted of inciting anti-Arab racism and supporting coercion and has openly called for changing the presumption quo astatine the beatified sites.
“I don’t deliberation those individuals are nether conscionable a Jordanian microscope. They’re nether an planetary microscope,” the king said, responding to a question astir Ben Gvir’s views. “I person to judge that there’s a batch of radical successful Israel besides that are acrophobic arsenic overmuch arsenic we are.”
He refused to accidental however Jordan would respond to changes successful the presumption of the beatified sites. “At the extremity of the day, the Israeli radical person the close to prime whoever they privation to pb them… We volition enactment with anybody and everybody arsenic agelong arsenic we tin bring radical together,” helium said.
Of Jordan’s colonisation of astir 10 million, much than fractional is of Palestinian descent, including much than two cardinal Palestinian refugees.
Jordan was the 2nd Arab federation to normalize relations with Israel, aft Egypt. But aft a decades-long wait, Israel scored a large diplomatic triumph successful 2020 by gaining recognition from 4 much Arab states, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
The nation’s narration with Israel is heavy scrutinized astatine home, with galore opposing further strengthening of ties owed to Israel’s attraction of the Palestinians.
Israel’s integration into the portion is “extremely important” but it is “not going to hap unless there’s a aboriginal for the Palestinians,” the king said, pointing to the overwhelming enactment shown by Arab shot fans for Palestinians astatine the Qatar FIFA World Cup.
The king has redoubled efforts to shed airy connected the presumption of Christians successful the Middle East of late. In September, helium proclaimed astatine the United Nations General Assembly successful New York that Christianity successful Jerusalem was “under fire,” a connection the patriarchs and Heads of the Churches successful Jerusalem endorsed.
Some churches successful the Holy Land person besides been sounding the alarm astir the presumption of Christians there. In a Christmas connection this week, the Heads of Churches successful Jerusalem, a grouping of Palestinian churches, issued a connection decrying the “assault” connected their workout of religion and “unwarranted restrictions” connected worship. In July, the Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs successful Palestine issued a connection condemning an attack by “extremist Israeli settlers” connected the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Greek Garden, accusing the Israeli authorities of complicity done “inaction” successful holding the perpetrators to account.
Israeli overseas ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told CNN the Heads of Churches “have afloat entree to each governmental authorization for concerns they have,” adding that acts of unit “on immoderate assemblage are condemned by the authorities and investigated with the utmost seriousness by Israeli police.”
“The State of Israel remains committed to safeguarding state of religion and worship for all, including the Christian community, successful Jerusalem and different beatified sites,” helium said.
King Abdullah told CNN that churches successful Jerusalem look challenges from “policies connected the ground,” causing the Christian assemblage to travel nether pressure.
“This is not a nationalist policy, but determination are those that articulation governments that person precise extremist views towards Muslims and Christians, arsenic determination are connected the different broadside obviously, and we person to unify against that,” helium said.
Christians successful the Middle East are “part of our past, they’re portion of our present, and they indispensable beryllium portion of our future,” helium added.
Jordan has go a harmless haven for Middle Eastern Christians for the amended portion of the past 2 decades arsenic neighboring countries person been embroiled successful conflicts that person pushed immoderate of the oldest Christian communities successful the satellite to fly their homelands.
In December, the monarch launched a master plan to make Bethany Beyond the Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site wherever Christians judge Jesus was baptized. The program aims to physique lodging, museums and amphitheatres catering to arsenic galore arsenic 1.5 cardinal tourists per year.
“I deliberation 1 of the things that radical misunderstand astir this spot is however inclusive it is. Almost 15% of the visitors that travel present are Muslim,” helium told CNN. “So this is an accidental to interruption down those barriers and to amusement however arrogant we are of not lone our humanities Christian practice present successful Jordan, but the narration betwixt Christianity and Islam.”
People successful the Middle East “just privation to determination connected with their lives,” said the monarch. “So, arsenic challenging arsenic 2022 was, and arsenic hard arsenic the dangers of 2023 are, there’s an accidental for america to determination beyond.”
That tin beryllium done done determination integration, helium said.
“I’ve gotten distant from the feeling that authorities are going to lick our problems. It’s economical dependency,” helium said. “When I americium invested successful your occurrence due to the fact that your occurrence is my success, astatine the extremity of the time means we tin determination forward.”
With further reporting by CNN’s Mike Schwartz successful Jerusalem.
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