Palestinian Authority warns against ‘dangerous’ plan to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship
Israeli soldiers aim their guns at Muslim worshippers near the Dome of the Rock in the complex in Jerusalem’s Old City that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, on 15 April 2022
Faisal Edroos reports in Middle East Eye on 26 May 2026:
The Palestinian Authority has warned against plans to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Al-Aqsa Mosque, hours after Middle East Eye reported that the US and Israel were actively pursuing a new arrangement for the revered Muslim site that would closely align with Israeli interests.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governorate said the reported plan sought to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Islamic site and fundamentally alter the longstanding status quo.
“The Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem is an internationally recognised historical, legal and political authority,” the governorate said in a statement. “It serves as a fundamental safeguard for protecting the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex and preserving its Arab and Islamic identity,” it added.
On Monday, MEE reported that the US and Israel were seeking a new arrangement for the mosque complex, which would terminate the 102-year authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf. According to the plan, the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex would be transformed into a “multi-faith centre”, allowing Jews “equal access” to the site and formally permitting large-group Jewish prayer. Israel would also have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in signing off on the content mentioned in Friday sermons.
Two US officials told MEE that Washington had drafted a paper on how they envisaged the mosque’s future. The officials said the Trump administration would like to see Al-Aqsa Mosque stripped of its Muslim identity, with the site turned into a landmark tourist attraction that hosts all three Abrahamic religions.
The governorate said that such proposals, if implemented, would represent “a dangerous escalation” aimed at forcibly erasing the mosque’s exclusively Islamic character.