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The United States and Israel are actively working to strip Jordan of its custodianship over Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, and create a new arrangement that would see the complex declared a "multi-faith center" aligned with Israeli interests, U.S., Jordanian, Palestinian, Western, and Gulf Arab officials told Middle East Eye (MEE), all requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
According to the officials, the plan is being championed by Jared Kushner, who holds no official administration role, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a devout Evangelical Christian and long-time pro-Israel advocate who has supported illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Islamic Waqf's authority would abruptly end and be replaced by a body created by the Israeli government.
Jews would be granted "equal access" to the site and the right to conduct large-group prayers.
Israel would have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials and would also be involved in approving the content of Friday sermons.
Two U.S. officials told MEE that Washington had drafted a paper outlining its vision for Al-Aqsa's future.
The officials said the Trump administration wanted to see the mosque stripped of its Muslim identity and turned into a landmark tourist attraction hosting all three Abrahamic faiths.
A Western official and a source briefed by the Jordanian government told MEE that a proposal they had seen included "rotational" Arab oversight of the Al-Aqsa complex, with Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, and the UAE already briefed on the U.S. proposal.
The sources said Israel had first floated the idea with the Trump administration nearly a decade ago, but that since Huckabee assumed his post last year, he had "repeatedly" pushed Washington to follow through.
The source familiar with Amman's thinking told MEE that "the Americans have been angry that the Jordanians cite their custodianship and raise complaints about Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa."
Two Gulf Arab sources and another source familiar with Jordanian government thinking told MEE that Saudi Arabia was against the proposal.
One Gulf Arab source said: "Saudi Arabia fully understands that if any moves are taken against the Hashemite custodianship, then that would inflame the entire region."
Another source said Riyadh viewed the custodianship as "a pillar of regional stability" and that, despite disagreements with Jordan on some issues, "on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, they understand the consequences of dismantling the existing arrangement."
Mustafa Abu Sway, deputy head of the Waqf council, told MEE: "The Hashemite Custodianship is a cornerstone for stability in the region; undermining it is tantamount to undermining the very principles for peace."
He said Palestinians viewed the custodianship "strategically as a lifeline."
A Jordanian government official told MEE that Amman's position on Jerusalem and its holy sites "remains firm" and that the Hashemite custodianship was internationally recognized under treaties, including Article 9 of the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty.
Jordan is also custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Church of the Ascension and has an effective veto over the appointment of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
All sources told MEE that the new proposal made no mention of Christian holy sites, a silence one source described as "raising a whole new set of concerns."
Two Gulf Arab sources told MEE that Jordan would likely rely on regional backing, particularly from Saudi Arabia, to counter the proposal. Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah has developed "a good relationship" with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in recent years.
The proposed plan comes amid an already documented pattern of Israeli encroachment. Jordan's foreign ministry this week condemned Israeli forces storming the Al-Aqsa compound and assaulting two guards, calling it a "blatant violation of international law" and reiterating that "Israel has no sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry separately condemned Israel's approval of a plan to seize 15 to 20 Palestinian properties in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood adjacent to Al-Aqsa, including Islamic endowments from the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, describing the move as "ethnic cleansing."
Under the post-1967 arrangement, the Islamic Waqf administers internal affairs at the complex while Israel controls external security.
The proposed plan would effectively invert that arrangement.
Following MEE's publication, a U.S. official issued a statement calling the report "totally false."
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