Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured King Abdullah II of Jordan that Israel does not intend to change the status quo in al- Aqsa Mosque and its compound in East Jerusalem, officials and local media said, Xinhua reported.
Netanyahu and King Abdullah talked over the phone on Thursday about the mounting tensions between Arab worshipers and Jews in the flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque compound in east Jerusalem.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to preserve the status quo in the Temple Mount," a statement by his office said, using the Jewish term for the holy site known to Muslims as Harem al-Sharif, or "Noble Sanctuary."
Netanyahu also stressed that Israel is committed "to Jordan's special status in the Temple Mount, in accordance to the bilateral peace agreement," his office said, adding that Netanyahu and Abdullah called for "an immediate end to all acts of violence and incitement."
The king stressed on Jordan's complete rejection of any measures that would tamper with the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque, endanger the mosque or change the status quo, according to Jordan' s state-run Petra news agency.
The talk came a day after Jordan recalled its ambassador in Israel due to Israel's "repeated violations" against the mosque and worshippers in compound. Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour has also ordered filing an official complaint against Israel to the UN Security Council.
Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, warned last week that the treaty was under serious threat after Israel temporarily closed the mosque along with other holy sites in Jerusalem.
Jordan's stewardship of the al-Aqsa compound, which was recognized in that treaty, dated back to 1924 when Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem granted custodianship to King Abdullah's great grandfather Sharif Hussein. The custodianship was reaffirmed in an agreement signed last year between the Palestinian National Authority and King Abdullah.
Over the past weeks, al-Aqsa compound became a flashpoint, as hard-line Israeli ministers and parliament members pressed the government to lift a restriction preventing Jews from praying in the holy site.
Several Israeli politicians have also made public visits to the Temple Mount, which Palestinians consider as provocation and frequently respond to with violence.
Fresh clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians and police erupted on Wednesday after a group of far-right activists attempted to conduct a prayer vigil in the site.