Hundreds of Jordanians took to the streets of the capital Amman Friday following midday prayers to protest an Israeli plan to legally define the country as the national Jewish homeland.
In a rally organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, around 1500 Jordanians marched through downtown Amman from the city center's Husseini Mosque carrying signs saying "Al Aqsa is in danger."
Former Islamic Action Front leader Hamzeh Mansur spoke to protesters about the impending law and its possible ramifications for the future of the Al Aqsa compound and the Palestinian plight in Jerusalem.
"Where is Jordan's custodianship over Jerusalem and where is the promised Palestinian state," he asked.
Holy to both Muslims and Jews, Al Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem and under custodianship of Jordan, along with other holy sites in annexed Arab East Jerusalem. Palestinians would like to see the area become the capital of their future state.
Fierce violence has gripped East Jerusalem and spread to areas of the West Bank and within Arab communities in Israel when tensions boiled over at the compound in October following a fresh campaign by ultra right-wing Jews to gain prayer rights at the site, which they call Temple Mount.
The events at Al Aqsa, along with the deadly terror attack at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue last week, have led to the Israeli government's endorsement Sunday of a plan to legally define the country as the official homeland to the Jewish people.
Critics of the law have said its implementation could encourage discrimination of Israel's 1.7 million Arab population, while Palestinian leaders say it would make any attempt at Palestinian statehood and a long-term peal process impossible.
The law's future will be decided at an Israeli parliamentary vote Wednesday.
