King Abdullah II stressed the need to avoid any escalation in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (French - archive)

King Abdullah II of Jordan stressed - today, Monday - "the necessity of stopping settlers' attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem," stressing the necessity of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Jordanian Royal Court said that King Abdullah II and King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa discussed - during a phone call - the situation in Gaza, and stressed the necessity of reaching an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Strip, and intensifying work to avoid any escalation in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of #Bahrain, discuss, during a phone call, the dangerous situation in #Gaza.

Where it was emphasized, the necessity of reaching an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and intensifying work to avoid any escalation in the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

— RHC (@RHCJO) March 11, 2024

Earlier, the King of Jordan warned of the seriousness of the repercussions of the possible Israeli attack on the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and the necessity of preventing any steps that would displace the Palestinians, stressing the need to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and work to find a political horizon for the Palestinian issue. It ends the cycle of violence in the region.

"The situation explodes"

For its part, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said today that the restrictions imposed by Israel on the arrival of worshipers during the month of Ramadan, not allowing Muslims to perform religious rituals, and restricting freedom of entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque, “all of this is pushing the situation toward an explosion.”

In statements to official media, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi said that his country rejects the announced Israeli move to limit worshipers’ access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, under the pretext of security reasons in light of the continuing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

This comes amid the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities to impose restrictions on the entry of young people to Al-Aqsa to perform Tarawih prayers since yesterday evening, Sunday, the night of the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, in addition to assaulting a number of worshipers by beating them at the gates of the Holy Mosque.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies