Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post, Dec. 29, 2022
“The question now is whether every incident that can be exploited, will be exploited to cause a cycle of endless crisis.”
Jordanian King Abdullah II warned on CNN of potential escalation and conflict due to concerns about tensions in Jerusalem, while Israel’s most right-wing government was sworn in.
In past conflicts, such as in May 2021 between Israel and Hamas, tensions in Jerusalem ostensibly led to the hostilities. In reality, there are many groups with an interest to create tensions over issues in Jerusalem, inflame the public over “threats” to al-Aqsa Mosque and then create a pretense for conflict.
A preview of worse to come?
Israel’s incoming government hands its adversaries a very easy lever over which one only has to push it a bit, and there can be a new “conflict.” Jordan’s warnings may be a preview of worse to come, or they may be calculated to channel an existing narrative, a kind of feedback loop of crisis.
This isn’t the first time the Kingdom of Jordan has expressed concerns, and it’s not even the first time the king has made sure to move quickly due to a new government coming to power.
In April 2017, Abdullah met with US president Donald Trump, just months after he came into office. Jordan was concerned about Trump’s pro-Israel policies and the chance that the US might make a surprise announcement, such as moving its embassy to Jerusalem. In the end, the US did move the embassy, and the king went to Turkey, where he and the Turkish leader warned Israel and the US about the embassy move.
“If the wrong step is taken regarding Jerusalem’s status, it will be the cause of indignation in the Islamic world,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the time, claiming any move would “dynamite the ground for peace, igniting new tensions and clashes.”… Source