Jordan warns of imminent Al-Aqsa takeover

Jordan has issued a stark warning that Israel may be on the verge of seizing control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, a move that could trigger a wider religious conflict. The warning follows an escalating pattern of incursions by Jewish religious extremists, including a July 23 storming of the site by over 2,000 settlers led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which Jordanian officials called the worst violation in modern history. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has convened an emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers to coordinate a response, emphasizing that tampering with the status quo could ignite a conflict reverberating across the Muslim world. Jordan, which has served as custodian of the site for over a century under the 1994 peace treaty, also fears Israeli efforts to displace Palestinians from the West Bank, which it considers a red line. Additionally, Israel has refused to renew a water-sharing agreement and halved water supplies to Jordan, reportedly in retaliation for Jordanian criticism of the Gaza war. The crisis has heightened anti-normalization sentiment in Jordan and raised political costs for the monarchy, while the presence of US forces in Jordan has become a political liability amid Iranian airstrikes.