Palestinians pray as Israeli border police officers stand guard at the Lion\'s Gate in Jerusalem\'s Old City, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Dozens of Muslims have prayed in the street outside the holy Jerusalem site, heeding a call by clerics not to enter the site until a dispute with Israel over security arrangements is settled. This comes after Israel removed metal detectors earlier on Tuesday.
CAIRO, KOMPAS – The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf held talks on Wednesday (26/7) with the Israeli police to ask Israel to remove the remaining barriers restricting the freedom of Palestinian Muslims to observe their prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Some of the barriers are still found around the holy site, even though Israel has removed the metal detectors at the main gates of the compound.
As of Wednesday, Palestinian Muslims continued their peaceful protest against Israel by performing their five daily prayers in front of Asbath Gate, also called the Lion’s Gate. They refuse to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque until Israel removes the remaining barriers.
There is a concern that if the crisis is not resolved by this Friday, serious clashes between Palestinians and Israel security officials will erupt yet again. Every Friday, thousands of Palestinian Muslims go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform Friday prayers.
Kompas reporter Musthafa Abd Rahman, who has been monitoring the development of the Al-Aqsa crisis in Cairo, Egypt, reported that the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf decided to hold talks with the Israeli police after a technical committee formed by the organization reported that a number of obstacles still restricted Palestinians from entering the mosque compound freely.
The obstacles consist of the closure of several doors to the mosque, metal barriers and towers in front of the Lion’s Gate and cables lying in front of the gate. The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf organization, which has the authority to make decisions related to religious issues in East Jerusalem and manages daily affairs at Al-Aqsa Mosque, decided on Tuesday to form a technical committee to look into Israel’s decision to replace the metal detectors with security cameras.
Arabic newspaper Al Hayat reported that the organization would also send a delegation to Jordan to ask for clarifications regarding the news of a deal made between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah II in a phone conversation on Monday morning.
The conversation led to Israel’s decision to remove the metal detectors at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in exchange for the release of an Israeli security officer who was involved in Sunday’s fatal shooting of two Jordanian citizens at the Israel Embassy compound in Amman, Jordan.
It had also been reported that the Israeli Home Security chief (Shin Bet) Nadav Argaman and US special envoy for the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, who visited Amman on Monday, played a role in arranging the deal between Netanyahu and Abdullah II. The US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, had dropped hints of the deal. He said that serious efforts had been made behind the scenes between Prime Minister Netanyahu, King Abdullah II and a US official that led to a quick agreement on a solution.
However, many parties have not been pleased by this solution, as seen in the Palestinians continuing their protest by praying outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed in Ankara that Israel’s move to remove the metal detectors was proper, but not enough.
Erdogan added that Turkey would not tolerate any obstruction of Muslims wanting to observe Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Providing aid
To support those affected by the Al-Aqsa crisis, the Palestinian Authority has decided to provide aid of around US$1,000 over the three next months for Palestinian traders in the Old City area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The traders have suffered losses due to the closure of the Old City.
The Palestinian Authority has also given a $300 bonus to the Palestinian guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a $500 aidto six Al-Quds University offices in the Old City and $5,000 to eight Red Cross and other emergency offices in the Old City.
The Al-Aqsa crisis was triggered by Israel’s installation of metal detectors at the Lion’s Gate after two Israeli policemen were killed in a gunfight with three Palestinian men on July 14. However, as is often the case in the Holy Land, the crisis concerns more than the issue over the metal detectors. Unresolved issues of sovereignty, freedom of worship, Israeli occupation and Palestinian nationalism are at the roots of the crisis.
The crisis was one of the things discussed in a telephone conversation between Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday. The conversation related to China’s position as a permanent member and current president of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
“Indonesia hopes that under the Chinese presidency, the UN Security Council can do something for Al-Aqsa (so that) the freedom of worship for Muslims can be restored and the escalation [of the crisis] can be eased,” said Retno on the content of her conversation with Wang.
During the UN Security Council open debate forum on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, in New York on Tuesday, Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN, Triansyah Djani, said Indonesia had stressed that Israel must maintain the status quo of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“Indonesia has suggested that the international community place Al-Aqsa Mosque under international protection to ensure that the people of Palestine can observe their faith safely,” said Triansyah in a statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Wednesday.
