Middle East News
Jordan blasts Israeli "encroachment" on Jerusalem's holy places
Sep 7, 2009, 19:58 GMT
Amman - The Jordanian government on Monday criticized what it called the Israeli 'encroachment' on Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem and other steps that sought to change the Arab nature of the eastern sector of the city, which the Jewish state captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.
'Jordan rejects all unilateral measures being carried out by the Israeli side, including those which sought to change the demographic situation of the holy city and the encroachment on Islamic and Christian holy places,' Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communication Nabil Sharif said.
He made the remarks as he bid farewell to a Jordanian media delegation scheduled to travel to East Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Sharif reiterated Jordan's determination to defend the holy city against 'dangers' brought about by the Israeli measures in East Jerusalem, a reference to the intensive settlement activity and excavations there.
'The team's visit to Jerusalem also has the aim of acquainting themselves with the Jordanian efforts that seek to safeguard the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem,' he said.
Jordan concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, under which the Jewish state acknowledged the Hashemite Kingdom's right to look after the Islamic and Christians shrines in East Jerusalem, which the United Nations still considers an occupied territory.
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