Jordan King Tells Palestinian Authority Chief 'We Will Always Be With You'

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday vowed to “safeguard” Jerusalem’s holy sites and uphold the city’s status quo during a meeting in Amman with Muslim and Christian religious leaders from the Israeli capital.

A statement from the royal court said King Abdullah told the delegation – led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – that Jordan “will always be with you.” 

“It is the duty of every Muslim to deter Israeli escalation against… holy sites in Jerusalem,” the king said.

The meeting followed tensions with Israel’s government over remarks by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and fears of a flare-up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

King Abdullah touted a longtime commitment to preserving “peace and harmony” at Jerusalem’s sacred basin – the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site which Jordan administers, or what Jews call the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.

Last week, church leaders in Jerusalem appealed to the Israeli government to ensure Christians are able to worship freely during Easter, expressing concern at mounting harassment and acts of desecration over the past year. There have also been reports of recent violence against Christians in the capital city.

King Abdullah hailed "Jerusalemites efforts to safeguard" the holy sites and "stressed the need to stop the displacement of Christians, as well as the repeated attacks on churches, religious figures, and Christian property in Jerusalem.”

He further "called on the international community to take a stand against the exclusionary and racist statements made recently by some Israeli officials,” seemingly referring to Smotrich saying "there isn't a Palestinian people” during a prior event in France.