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Join on Telegram Toronto- Closed since Friday morning following the shooting deaths of five people, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City has become the focal point of rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
According the Palestinian Authority’s minister of religious affairs, Sheikh Yusuf Idis, “There is no excuse for the closure of Al-Aqsa mosque, and we oppose this decision.”
He added that, “The freedom to worship is a right guaranteed in law and any violation of that right is rejected.”
On Friday morning, outside one of the entrances to the mosque, two Israeli police officers were shot and killed, allegedly by three Palestinian assailants who were themselves shot and killed by responding Israeli police.
This is the first time in nearly fifty years that the mosque, called Temple Mount by Israel, has been closed to worship. Palestinians resorted to praying in the streets in response to the closure.
Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, Jerusalem’s mufti, spent a brief time in detention on Friday following an attempt on his part to access the mosque’s compound. In the end, he held open-air prayers nearby. He was released on bail the same day.
The attack has raised a discussion in the Israeli Knesset regarding security at the site. Right-wing members of parliament are calling for stepped up measures in light of the incident and that has Palestinians concerned that any such move could signal an eventual shift in the status quo at Al-Aqsa.
For OferZalzberg, senior analyst for Israel/Palestine at the International Crsis Group, Palestinian concern is to be expected. “This is a decision that aims to deter further attacks and it will be interpreted by most Palestinians as collective punishment.”
Having said that, Zalzberg also feels that any permanent shift to the current agreement governing the mosque’s day-to-day operations is unlikely. In an interview with Al Jazeera, he explained that “[Netanyahu] needs to do crisis management and he does not want to find himself losing relations with Jordan, when strategically they need each other so much in south Syria. He doesn’t want to ruin the emerging relations that he’s trying to build with the Gulf.”
Still, the Knesset has heard some strenuous arguments for sweeping policy change as a result of Friday’s bloodshed. Eli Ben Dahan, Israel’s deputy defense minister as well as being a member of the Jewish Home right-wing group, said that “Israel must bolster its rule and control over the [holy sites], and to ensure that all Jews can pray there at any time in safety.”
Another Jewish Home MK, Moti Yegev, said the holy site “should be closed to Muslim [worshippers] for a long time.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the compound was shut for security reasons, noting that the status quo would be “preserved.” There is no official word when the mosque will re-opened to worship but Sunday has been mentioned as the earliest possible date.
