His Majesty King Abdullah II met Saturday with directors of official media institutions, editors of local newspapers and journalists and the President of the Jordan Press Association to discuss key domestic and regional issues.

The meeting held at the Al Husseiniyeh Palace, tackled the latest crisis at the Al Aqsa Mosque/ Haram Al Sharif, and efforts made to completely reopen the compound and restore the situation to how it was before the crisis erupted, and ensure that the historic and legal status quo at the holy shrine is maintained.

The King saluted the steadfastness and fortitude of Jerusalemites, stressing the joint Jordanian-Palestinian stance in dealing with crises, and noting, in this respect, the key role of the Islamic Waqf authority in holy Jerusalem in returning the situation to normal.

The issue of Palestine and Jerusalem is Jordan’s first priority, His Majesty reiterated, adding that “we continue to assume our historic role of defending Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

The King said he spared no occasion to put the Palestinian cause and defend Jerusalem before the world, adding “there is no voice that speaks better than Jordan as we carry out our historic political and legal role to stop the judaisation of holy sites despite the difficulties and challenges”, he said.

He stressed the importance of coordination among all parties to guarantee the respect of the status quo at Al Haram Al Sharif (holy sanctuary).

Commenting on Sunday’s incident at the Israeli embassy in Amman, in which two Jordanians were killed, His Majesty reiterated that Jordan will not compromise or relinquish the rights of its sons, pledging “we will devote every possible effort to ensure justice is served”.

He also said he was surprised that former officials had no voice at the time of crisis.

The meeting also touched on a ceasefire in southwest Syria, which was agreed recently between Jordan, the United States and Russia.

“Today, the road began to clear regarding Syria and Iraq, and there are positive indications”, the King said, voicing his optimism about the situation in Iraq and the possibility of reopening the border crossing between Jordan and Iraq this year.

The discussion also touched on the media’s role to tackle the developments in a professional and objective manner, as well as the importance of developing their tools to keep pace with the advancement in the media landscape, particularly social media, to ensure a speedy response and deliver information in a way that enhances trust between the public and the state’s institutions.

In this context, the King said it is strange and unacceptable to question our military and security institutions, vowing “we will not tolerate that any individual’s voice be louder than that of our institutions”. He also said the armed forces are “a red line”.

The media representatives underscored the key role Jordan had undertaken to find a solution to the Al Aqsa Mosque crisis, praising His Majesty’s keenness on safeguarding the rights of Jordanians.

The meeting was attended by the Royal Court chief, the Foreign minister and the director of the King’s office.

Source : Fana News