Jordan: Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem is ‘Red Line’
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A spokesman for the Jordanian government says Donald Trump’s promise to move the US Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem would be a “gift to extremists.”
According to the Associated Press, Information Minister Mohammed Momani said Jordan would use all political and diplomatic measures to prevent such a move.
Momani said moving the embassy “will have catastrophic implications on several levels, including the regional situation.”
Jordan is custodian of the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem, where the Dome of the Rock stands and where Jews believe the ancient Temple once stood.
Jordan is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and a member of a U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it, a move not recognized by the international community. Palestinians hope east Jerusalem will be the capital of their future state. For years, U.S. presidents have promised to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but have ultimately reneged on their pledges.
Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has said he looks forward to starting his job in Jerusalem.
Israel and Jordan signed a peace accord in 1994, but relations between the peoples are cold.
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