Sometimes public incidents reveal political strife. This was the case when, in the second week of March, Jerusalem was the focus of a dispute involving Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah officially canceled his visit to Jerusalem on short notice over a disagreement with Israeli security. Then Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled his planned visit to the United Arab Emirates. It was said that Jordan failed to give Netanyahu’s plane permission to fly over the country.
See: Scandal Over Netanyahu’s Cancelled Trip to Abu Dhabi
Both incidents have one and the same interesting historical and religious background. A hidden dispute between the Saudi royal family and the Hashemite kingdom in Jordan is revealed. Both kingdoms insist on being the legal guardian or custodian over the holy places in Jerusalem, in particular the mosques sitting atop the Temple Mount. Israel is drawn into this dispute.
It was for this reason that the Jordanian Crown Prince planned a lightning visit to...
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