The United States and Israel are working together to take away Jordans control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem. Jordan has been in charge of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex for a long time. The United States and Israel want to make a plan that will help Israel. This new plan will decide how the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is managed and it will be good for Israel. Many officials, from the United States and Jordan and Palestine and other Arab countries talked to Middle East Eye about this on May 25. The United States and Israel are trying to change the way the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is run because they want it to work with interests. The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is an important place and Jordan has been taking care of it for decades. The plan, as described by sources who requested anonymity, would dissolve the authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf and declare Al-Aqsa a “multi-faith centre.” A US official, responding after publication, called the report “totally false.”
According to Middle East Eye, the proposal is being driven by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who holds no official position in the current administration, and by United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Under the arrangement they are championing, a new body created by the Israeli government would take over administration of the compound. The plan would formally grant Jews equal access to the mosque and allow large-group Jewish prayer at the site, which Islam considers one of its holiest.
Israel’s role under the proposal would extend beyond physical access. Israel would have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in approving the content of Friday sermons, sources told Middle East Eye.
Two US officials told Middle East Eye that Washington had drafted a paper outlining how it envisaged the mosque’s future, with the Trump administration seeking to strip Al-Aqsa of its Muslim identity and turn the site into a landmark tourist attraction hosting all three Abrahamic religions.
A separate proposal seen by a western official and a source briefed by the Jordanian government described a “rotational” Arab oversight model for the compound. Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates had all been briefed on the US proposal, those sources said. Saudi Arabia, according to two Gulf Arab sources, opposes the plan.
Mustafa Abu Sway, the deputy head of the Waqf council, declined to comment on Jordan’s position but defended the existing arrangement in direct terms. “The Hashemite Custodianship is a cornerstone for stability in the region,” he said. “Undermining it is tantamount to undermining the very principles for peace.”
A Jordanian government official told Middle East Eye that Amman’s position “remains firm” and that the Hashemite custodianship is recognised under international treaties, including Article 9 of the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty, which acknowledges Jordan’s “special role” in Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites. The official said Jordan was coordinating with Palestinian, Arab and international partners to preserve the “Arab, Islamic and Christian identity” of the sites and prevent any change to the historical and legal status quo.
The Jerusalem Governorate said it had not been informed of any such proposal but said it “reject[s] it entirely,” citing what it described as a “dangerous escalation” in Israeli interference in Waqf operations, including restrictions on guards and staff and increasing settler incursions into the compound.
A Familiar Template
Jordanian and Palestinian officials told Middle East Eye that the proposed arrangement appeared modelled on Israel’s approach to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Following a 1994 massacre by an Israeli settler, Israel allocated 63 percent of that site to Jewish worship and 37 percent to Muslims, despite the site being revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews alike as the burial place of the Prophet Abraham.
Ambassador Huckabee, a devout Evangelical Christian and former talk show host and a long-time pro-Israel advocate, has “repeatedly” called on Washington to follow through with the plan since assuming his post last year, Middle East Eye reported. Sources said Israel had first floated the idea with the Trump administration nearly a decade ago.
One source familiar with Amman’s thinking told Middle East Eye that “the Americans have been angry that the Jordanians cite their custodianship and raise complaints about Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa.” Jordan’s parliament condemned Israeli measures to seize Palestinian properties and Islamic endowments adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque earlier this month.
All sources who spoke to Middle East Eye said the proposal makes no mention of the fate of Jerusalem’s Christian holy sites. The Hashemite monarchy also holds custodianship over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Ascension, and holds an effective veto over the appointment of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. “This plan says nothing about the Christian sites, which raises a whole new set of concerns,” one source told the outlet.
Regional Fault Lines
The proposal is driving a visible split among Arab states that have normalised ties with Israel. Two Gulf Arab sources told Middle East Eye that Jordan was likely to rely on regional backing to counter the US-Israeli proposal, with Saudi Arabia viewed as the most critical voice.
“Saudi Arabia fully understands that if any moves are taken against the Hashemite custodianship, then that would inflame the entire region,” one Gulf Arab source told Middle East Eye. A second source said Riyadh viewed the custodianship as “a pillar of regional stability” and that while the Saudis may have disagreements with Jordan on other issues, “on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa they understand the consequences of dismantling the existing arrangement.”
Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah has developed a strong relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in recent years, with ties between the two kingdoms deepening since a group of Arab countries normalised relations with Israel, the sources said.
The position of the UAE and Bahrain is less clear. Since signing the Abraham Accords in 2020, both Abu Dhabi and Manama have steadily deepened political, economic and security ties with Israel, even as regional anger over Israeli actions in Jerusalem and Gaza has intensified. Emirati-linked religious initiatives have promoted concepts of “multi-faith coexistence” that Palestinian and Jordanian officials fear could be used to legitimise changes to Al-Aqsa’s status. One Gulf Arab source told Middle East Eye that the UAE and Bahrain “should be cautious about publicly supporting changes to the status quo.”
Middle East Eye said it contacted the foreign ministries of Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for comment but received no response before publication.
Background
Jordan’s custodianship over Al-Aqsa traces to 1924, when the Hashemite family was granted oversight of Jerusalem’s holy sites after losing control of Mecca and Medina to the Al Saud family during the British Mandate period. Under arrangements reached after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the Islamic Waqf was given authority over internal affairs at the compound while Israel controlled external security. Non-Muslims are permitted to visit during designated hours but are prohibited from praying on the grounds. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is where Jewish tradition holds that two ancient temples once stood. For years, Palestinian and Jordanian officials have warned that Israeli police raids, increasing visits by ultranationalist Jewish groups and ministerial calls for Jewish prayer rights have progressively eroded the status quo.
What Happens Next
Jordan is going to try to get all the Arab countries to work together and respond to this idea. Jordan is really counting on Saudi Arabia to say it does not like the proposal. The people in charge of Jordan want Saudi Arabia to say something, about this proposal so everyone can hear it. Jordan thinks that Saudi Arabia will help them by saying it is not an idea. The Jordanian government has said it intends to continue coordinating with Palestinian, Arab and international partners on preserving the legal status of the sites. The plan’s champions — Kushner and Huckabee — have no confirmed timeline for advancing the proposal, and no formal policy announcement has been made by the White House. A US official’s denial, issued after Middle East Eye’s report was published, did not address the specific details reported by the outlet’s sources.
