Summary: as Israel braces for another election, Benjamin Netanyahu has succeeded in tying his Jewish opponents up in knots whilst hamstringing the Arab Joint List and angering Jordan.
With Israelis voting for the fourth time in two years one week from today, Arab states are wondering if Benjamin Netanyahu will pull yet another rabbit from the hat to continue his run as
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While there may be domestic Jordanian politics involved – Crown Prince Husayn’s profile is steadily being raised – there is also the central issue over the Haram al-Sharif itself. As the Times of Israel reported “We had reached arrangements for visits with the Israeli side. We were surprised when they sought to impose new arrangements and change the plan for the visit”. Israeli control / changes in control over al-Aqsa is a sensitive issue for the Jordanians.
“Turkey vows to ‘liberate Al-Aqsa’ after turning Hagia Sophia to mosque” (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/turkey-vows-to-liberate-al-aqsa-after-turning-hagia-sophia-to-mosque-634700) is unlikely in the near future. However, there is a more realistic threat from Sa’udi Arabia (which has already wrested control of the Haramayn from the Hashemites): as a result, “Jordan is scrambling to affirm its custodianship of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after a meeting between Israeli and Saudi leaders raised fears in Amman that the fate of one of Islam’s holiest sites could be up for grabs in a normalisation deal between the two countries.” (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/26/jordan-scrambles-affirm-custodianship-al-aqsa-mosque)
It is also worth noting that Crown Prince Husayn of Jordan is 1/4 Hashemite, 1/4 British – and 1/2 Palestinian.