Israel-UAE Deal: Will Jordan’s Custodianship of the Al-Aqsa Mosque be Affected?

• Israel-UAE Deal: Will Jordan’s Custodianship of the Al-Aqsa Mosque be Affected?
  by Mohammad Ersan in Amman, https://www.middleeasteye.net/
  An ambiguously phrased statement has left Jordan guessing whether its custody of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian religious sites is under threat.
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  The announcement on 13 August that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had reached an agreement paving the way for official diplomatic relations between the two states has prompted many critical reactions – particularly from Palestinians, as those most affected by regional normalisation with Israel.
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  But in neighbouring Jordan, authorities have also looked on with a degree of apprehension at how the developments might affect the Hashemite kingdom.
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  A report by Israeli NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem has warned that the phrasing of an initial joint statement by US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed implied changes in the status of religious sites in occupied East Jerusalem over which Jordan has had custodianship for nearly a century.
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  The statement says that “all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths”. The status of Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem has long been a sensitive topic – with none the focus of more tension than the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as Haram al-Sharif.
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  The ambiguous framing of the statement directly affects Hashemite custodianship, but Jordanian authorities have been cautious about jumping into the fray.
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  “This is a very sensitive topic,” a senior Jordanian official responsible for Jerusalem affairs, who asked not to be identified, told Middle East Eye, adding that the country had to take into account the “thousands of Jordanians working in the Emirates” who might be affected should Amman come out strongly against any changes to the status quo.
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  Historic role under threat?
  Jordan has been the official custodian of Christian and Muslim holy places in Jerusalem since 1924, when Sharif Hussein, the initiator of the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, was publicly acclaimed as the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites. 
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