Rabat – In a speech before the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, Palestinian envoy, Riyad Mansour, warned against what he called Israel’s “aggressive behaviour and provocative violation” of existing agreements regarding control of the Al-Aqsa site in Jerusalem.
Accusing Israel of a “reckless and destructive agenda,” Mansour added that “The stoking of a religious conflict is rapidly unfolding as Israel persists its illegal actions in occupied East Jerusalem.”
Describing the current climate at the holy site, after a weekend of bloody protests that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians and three Israelis, Mansour said, “We are clearing at the tipping point.”
He also warned against “far-reaching consequences” if the Israeli-led “provocation and incitement and fuelling of yet another cycle of violence” isn’t brought to a halt quickly.
Earlier Tuesday, Israel agreed to dismantle the much-hated metal detectors it installed at the mosque’s entrances following the deaths of two Israeli police officers in East Jerusalem on June 14. The three alleged Palestinian perpetrators fled to the mosque following the killings where they were shot and killed by Israeli security.
The installation of the new security measures sparked angry protests from Palestinians who feared Israel would encroach further into the long-standing agreements governing control of Al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam.
Israel responded to the threat of mass demonstrations at the mosque by deploying three thousand additional security personnel last Friday and forbidding entry to any Palestinian male under the age of 50. The resulting violence marked the worst bloodshed in Jerusalem in years.
Israel has promised to replace the metal detectors with more advanced surveillance technologies but didn’t elaborate further other than to say it could take months before the installation is complete.
