Jordan's King Abdullah meets Palestinian President as Jerusalem tension subsides

King says Jordan worked to contain violence at Al Aqsa Mosque flashpoint

Palestinian worshippers pray inside the Dome of the Rock in East Jerusalem on April 27. AFP

Jordan's King Abdullah told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday that Jordan had worked with "regional and international partners" to contain violence in East Jerusalem.

He met Mr Abbas in Amman late on Wednesday, the Jordanian state news agency reported, days after Israel stopped incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Violence at the mosque threatened to ignite another war, less than a year after similar tension helped to spark an 11-day conflict between the militant group Hamas, the rulers of Gaza who are supported by Iran, and Israel.

"His majesty made it clear that Jordan intensified its co-operation with all regional and international partners to stop the escalation," the news agency said.

It said King Abdullah "renewed his rejection of any attempts to change the historic and legal status" at Haram Al Sharif, which includes Al Aqsa Mosque.

It is a contested hill where Al Aqsa, one of the holiest places in Islam, was built under Umayyad rule in the eighth century.

Jordan has custodianship of the mosque under century-old arrangements.

The kingdom strongly supports Mr Abbas's Palestinian Authority and is at formal peace with Israel. Mr Abbas has a second home in Amman and is often in the city.

The authority was undermined by the war last year as Hamas touted what it called the need to defend Palestinian rights by force.

Scores of people, mostly Palestinians, were wounded this month as Israeli forces and extremist Jews entered Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

The violence followed attacks by Palestinian extremists that killed 14 people in Israel since March. Israeli raids on the West Bank killed more than 20 Palestinians in the same period.