Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman on Tuesday to discuss curbing the violence during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, amid an uptick of terror attacks in Israel.
Gantz outlined measures Israel will take towards preserving freedom of worship in Jerusalem and the West Bank and to improve the lives of Palestinians, a statement from his office said.
A total of 20,000 Gazans have permits to work in Israel, due to a recent decision to increase the quota.
Gantz “emphasized the importance of maintaining regional peace and stability and the need to fight terrorism in all its forms, specifically to act forcefully against the Islamic State organization, which is behind the recent attacks in Israel,” the statement read.
Abdullah told Gantz that “provocative actions that lead to escalation,” the Jordanian Royal Court said.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) speaks during remarks at the Negev Summit in the Israeli kibbutz of Sde Boker on March 28, 2022. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“His Majesty stressed that maintaining the comprehensive calm requires respecting the right of Muslims to perform their religious rites in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, removing any obstacles that stop them from performing prayers, and preventing provocations that lead to escalation,” according to the court.
It was the third meeting between Abdullah and Gantz. While ties between Israel and Jordan are lukewarm at best, they have improved in recent months with the new Israeli government. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett secretly met with Abdullah in Amman over the summer, after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, shortly before.
The majority of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent and freedom of worship on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has always been a point of contention for the kingdom, which also administers the holy site through the Islamic Waqf trust.
Gantz “wished [Abdullah] and all the citizens of the kingdom a Ramadan kareem ahead of the month of Ramadan, which will begin in the coming days,” according to Gantz’s office.
Ramadan is often fraught with tension and an increase in violence in Israel, especially in Jerusalem.
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