US, Israel Working on New Al-Aqsa Arrangement That Would End Jordanian Custodianship – Middle East Eye
The US and Israel are “actively working” to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and are pursuing a new arrangement that would see the management of the revered Muslim site closely align with Israeli interests, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye.
US, Jordanian and Palestinian officials, as well as western and Gulf Arab sources, told MEE that under the plan, championed by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf would abruptly end, and a new body created by the Israeli government would declare the Al-Aqsa Mosque a “multi-faith centre”.
According to the officials, the “new arrangement” would grant Jews “equal access” to the Muslim site and formally allow large-group Jewish prayer.
Israel would also have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in signing off on the content mentioned in Friday sermons.
