Netanyahu promises to abide by Temple Mt status quo in meeting with King Abdullah

In a previously unannounced talk in Amman  on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is reported to have promised ith King Abdullah to preserve the status quo on Temple Mount and al Aqsa, and also strengthen the Moslem Waqf’s authority as an arm of Jordanian custodianship of the shrine. Many Jews have for decades challenged the ban on prayers at the shrine, site of the Biblical temples. In one of his first acts as newly-appointed Public Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Dvir visited Temple Mount causing uproar. After Netanyahu’s promise to the king, he declared he would continue to do so. In their conversation of two-and-a-half hours, their first since 2018, the two leaders also discussed Jordan’s dire economic situation and Syria’s exploitation of the kingdom on its border as a primary drug smuggling conduit to markets. This route is managed by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brother Maher and enforced by the 4th division of the Syrian army.