World Bulletin/News Desk

 Jordan's parliament on Tuesday called on the government to shoulder its responsibilities vis-à-vis the "repeated racist assaults [by Israeli authorities] on Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the desecration [of the city and mosque] with the tacit approval of the Zionist occupation police."

"The series of flagrant assaults on Palestinian land, people and holy sites by the Zionists comes within the context of the Zionist occupiers' recklessness and arrogance regarding international resolutions and human rights charters," read a parliamentary statement.

The assembly also applauded the government's decision last week to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv and "use it [the ambassador's absence] to pressure the Israeli government into heeding the peace treaty" between Jordan and the self-proclaimed Jewish state.

On Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah held talks with Federica Mogherini, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, to discuss the situation in Jerusalem and the Middle East peace process.

At the meeting, Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan's position against Israeli violations and practices that targeted holy sites in Jerusalem, especially the iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Last week, Jordan, which oversees Jerusalem's holy sites in line with its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, recalled its ambassador from Israel to protest Israeli "violations" in East Jerusalem.

Tension has run high in East Jerusalem since late last month, when Israel closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for several hours after an extremist rabbi was injured in a West Jerusalem shooting.

The unrest mounted further when Israeli forces killed a young Palestinian man suspected of shooting the rabbi in a raid on his East Jerusalem home.

Further aggravating the situation, a number of Israeli parliamentarians have forced their way into the mosque complex in recent days and weeks, drawing the ire of Muslim worshippers and official condemnation from Arab and Muslim countries.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.

In September 2000, a visit to Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon triggered what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a popular uprising against Israel's decades-long occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.