Jordan asks Israel to stop 'barbaric' attacks on worshippers in Jerusalem

Jordan asked Israel on Sunday to stop what it called 'barbaric' attacks on worshippers in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa. Jordan has custodianship of Muslims and Christian sites in Jerusalem. It said it would step up international pressure on Israel.

East Jerusalem tensions have spilled over into clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians around al Aqsa, Islam's third-holiest mosque, at the height of the Ramadan fasting month.

"What the Israeli police and special forces are doing, from violations against the mosque to attacks on worshippers, is barbaric (behaviour) that is rejected and condemned," said Jordanian government said in a statement.

Frictions have mounted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, with nightly clashes in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah - a neighbourhood where numerous Palestinian families face eviction.

King Abdullah, whose Hashemite family claims descent from Islam's Prophet Mohammad and draws legitimacy from its custodianship role, said Israeli actions in the holy city were an escalation and called on it to end its "dangerous provocations".

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The monarch accused Israel of trying to change the demographic status of the holy city which contains sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the kingdom, which lost East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, would do its utmost to protect rights of Palestinians against ownership claims by Jewish settlers.

"Israel as the occupying force carries responsibility for protecting rights of Palestinians in their homes," Safadi said in comments on state media.

Jordan blames Israel for allowing right-wing religious Jews entry into the Aqsa mosque compound, saying this ignites Muslim passions and raises risks of a wider regional conflagration.