The Jordanian government on Tuesday condemned as "provocative" a tour of al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds city (Jerusalem) earlier in the day by Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich and a number of soldiers. Minister of State for Information Affairs and Communication Nabil Sharif urged an immediate cessation of such moves, which he said endangered the chances of peace. "This is an unacceptable provocation that hurts sentiments of millions of Arabs and Muslims, and a flagrant encroachment on the sanctity of one of Islam's most sacred places," he was quoted as saying by the German News Agency "DPA". "The Jordanian government has been following up with extreme concern this dangerous development and expresses its deep disappointment and categorical rejection of this unjustifiable step by the Israeli official." Sharif called on Israel "to stop all unilateral acts which sought to obliterate the historical identity of the holy city and force its Palestinian inhabitants to emigrate." He said that Aharonovich tour of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Israeli measures against Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem "should be stopped immediately because they threaten to derail all chances of peace and efforts in this respect, which are led by the United States."
