Muslim religious officials in occupied East Jerusalem say Israeli police have blocked them from installing security cameras at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, despite a new agreement to place the surveillance equipment there.US Secretary of State John Kerry announced over the weekend a deal between Israel and Jordan, which administers the site, to install security cameras at the hilltop compound that has been at the centre of weeks of unrest. Azzam Khatib, director of al-Waqf, the Islamic authority that oversees Muslim affairs at the site, said on Monday that Israeli police prevented work crews from installing cameras at the entrance to the compound. “They told our crews to stop the installation work and ordered us to remove everything we already had installed,” he told Al Jazeera.Khatib said he was instructed by officials at the Royal Court in Jordan to go ahead with the installation of security cameras. The visit by John Kerry to the region indicates that a way out is being worked out to settle the Palestinian issue as it has been realized in the US that the Israeli attempts to take over the Al Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the Noble Sanctuary (al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem is a sign of Israeli designs to complete the occupation of all Palestine. It is also a sign of Israeli thinking that neither Palestinians nor Arabs have a determined leadership to defend Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim rights and any opposition to action of Jewish leadership could be crushed with force. But the world fully understands that the Palestinians would not allow the Israelis to control the Al Aqsa Mosque. Kerry who earlier had met Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told reporters that Israel fully respects Jordan’s special role as custodian of the site and would continue to enforce its policy of religious worship including the fundamental fact that Muslims can pray there and non-Muslims just visit. He also assured that Israel has no intention of dividing the site and rejects any attempts to suggest otherwise. On the basis of these assurances by Kerry, one can assume that an agreement is being worked out on give and take basis to settle the Palestinian issue. We are certain that the issues of Palestinian refugees who are languishing in various countries and Israeli settlements would also be taken into consideration. It is hoped that wisdom would dawn on every stakeholder that without resolution of Palestinian issue, peace and stability would not return to the Middle East.
pk.shafaqna.com
