Abdullah and Abbas urge protection of holy sites

 Making a stopover in Amman from a European trip, Abbas informed the monarch on the effect of his talks with European leaders and progress in US efforts to get peace talks to resume between the Palestinians and Israel, according to a royal court statement

The two leaders also discussed the clashes between Israeli police and youths near East Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque and the recent decision by Israel to add two West Bank mosques to the list of Jewish heritage places

“Jordan also rejects and condemns the Israeli decision to add Haram al-Ibrahimi and the Bilal Mosque to the list of Jewish heritage sites,” Abdullah asserted

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week announced the addition of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Islam’s second holiest shrine in the West Bank, and the Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem on the list of Jewish heritage sites

In comments to reporters after the meeting, Abbas reiterated the warning he issued during his European trip that the latest Israeli step could ignite a religious war