Jordanian King Abdullah II. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Jordan’s King Abdullah is refusing to speak directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to tension over the Temple Mount holy site.

According to the London-based Arab newspaper Rai Al-Youm, which cited sources in Jordan, the Jordanian monarch will not speak with Netanyahu and has decided to lobby for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would rebuke Israel’s conduct on the Temple Mount.

Israel gained control of the Temple Mount during the 1967 Six-Day War. But the holy site is administered as part of the Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf, which does not allow Jewish prayer at the site and limits non-Muslim visits.

King Abdullah has been highly critical of Israel’s recent actions against violent Palestinian protesters on the Temple Mount. On Sunday, Abdullah told a visiting delegation of Arab members of the Israeli Knesset that the site was a place for “Muslim prayer only.” Last week, Abdullah warned Israel against any further “provocation” at the holy site that could ruin relations between the two countries.

Israel responded to King Abdullah’s criticism by telling the Jordanian leader that Jordan itself that is violating the status quo at the Temple Mount by allowing armed rioters there. According to a report by Israel’s Channel 2 on Monday, the Israeli government told King Abdullah to not “run away from your responsibility” in safeguarding the holy site.