Ever since Bibi’s government took power a few weeks ago, animosity has grown between Jordan’s King Abdullah and Bibi over the Temple Mount.
While Bibi’s brief meeting with Abdullah obviously centered around calming down Jordan’s mini King, it is Jordan who actually needs Israel far more than Israel needs Amman. Bibi may have told Jordan’s leader that he wants to preserve the “status-quo” but it how that “status-quo” is interpreted that matters.
At the end of the day, Jordan’s ability to influence Israel is waning. After all, with the Abraham Accords, the Jordan’s necessity for Israel is merely just a buffer. There is no real peace between the countries, just a cold relationship. More than this, potential peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel may push Jordan off the mount altogether as any normalization deal between the Saudis and Israel will give Saudi Arabia role.
Netanyahu visited Abdullah to make sure he toes the line in the upcoming war between Israel and Iran. Abdullah may not like Iran, but with the Gulf States overshadowing him, he may opt to turn against Israel and this Bibi can’t have.
Bibi and the Jewish people also cannot have Jordan dictating the terms of the “status quo” on the Temple Mount — the most sacred Jewish religious site.
This is especially so considering that the “status quo,” i.e. the sanctity and physical integrity of the Temple Mount, has been continually disturbed only by Palestinian Arabs and the Jordanian Waqf.