Jerusalem - Israel overnight removed all
security infrastructure it had put in place this month at Muslim
entrances to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City,
stepping up its efforts to diffuse political and religious
tension.
The government had already dismantled metal detectors it
installed in the area after the killing of two Israeli policemen
on July 14, hoping the move would calm 10 days of often-violent
protests that have put the city on edge.
But separate security measures, including closed-circuit
cameras and low metal gates, were left in place, angering
Palestinian leaders and the population, who have threatened a
"day of rage" on Friday. Most Muslims have avoided entering the
compound in the past two weeks, praying instead in the streets.
The stand-off at the holy site - known to Muslims as the
Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount - has provoked some
of the worst bloodshed in Jerusalem for years, with peace
efforts having stagnated since 2014.
Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians in fighting in
the cramped streets of East Jerusalem in the last week, and a
Palestinian stabbed three Israelis to death in their home.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for
calm, saying there was the risk of an explosion of violence.
Tensions around the holy site have led to long periods of unrest
in the past, including the second Palestinian uprising or
Intifada, which left thousands dead from 2000 to 2004.
"I am particularly concerned about the potential risk of
escalating violence, urge all political, religious and community
leaders to refrain from provocative action and rhetoric, and
call on Israel to demonstrate restraint," Guterres said.
Amateur video shot overnight showed Israeli contractors
dismantling gantries put up to hold security cameras and using
forklift trucks to take away metal barriers from the marbled
Lion's Gate entrance to the mosque compound.
Witnesses said all the security devices had been removed and
crowds of Palestinians gathered in the early hours to celebrate.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri confirmed the removal.
"Everything that was installed after the attack (the killing
of the two police officers) was taken down overnight," she said.
Muslim and political leaders were meeting to discuss the
situation and determine whether they are satisfied.
The Waqf, the Jordanian-backed religious trust that
administers the holy site, had declared its approval after
Israel removed the metal detectors earlier in the week, but that
did not reassure the public or political leaders.
It remains unclear, therefore, whether the Waqf's backing
this time - if granted - will be sufficient to defray the
tensions and restore calm.
REGIONAL FRICTION
The dispute, like many in the Holy Land, is about more than
security devices, taking in issues of sovereignty, religious
freedom, occupation and Palestinian nationalism.
The Noble Sanctuary contains the Aqsa Mosque, the third
holiest shrine in Islam, and the golden Dome of the Rock. For
Jews, the area is the site of two ancient temples, the second
one destroyed by the Romans, and the holiest place in Judaism.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City and
the holy compound, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the
area and declared it part of its "indivisible capital".
That has never been recognised internationally, with the
United Nations and others regarding East Jersusalem as occupied
by Israel and maintain that the status of the city can only be
determined through negotiations between the parties.
Palestinians do not recognise Israel's authority in East
Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of a future
Palestinian state, and are extremely sensitive to the presence
of Israeli security forces in and around the Noble Sanctuary.
When Israel installed the metal detectors it was seen as a
fundamental change to long-standing security and access
arrangements, referred to as the status quo, one of the most
incendiary issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of
damaging Jerusalem's "Islamic character", prompting a furious
response from the Israeli foreign ministry, which accused the
Turkish government of brutally repressing its Kurdish minority
and of stifling democracy.