Amman: Enough violence on Temple Mount, we will install cameras
Jordanian Minister of Islamic Affairs, Hayel Daoud, announces the creation of a "control center." The video surveillance system will "document all the aggressions and violations of Israel." In the past, the Israeli police had boycotted the project of video surveillance, blocking its installation.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In the coming days the Jordanian authorities will install security cameras around the al-Aqsa mosque, to monitor any "violations" by Israel in the holy place. Last October, even the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, supported the placement of cameras at the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem, to try to stop the rising tide of violence around the area.
Plans for a video surveillance security system emerged during a meeting between the head of US diplomacy, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Full consent to the proposal also came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, the Organization responsible for the protection of religious values (Waqf), which has custody of the holy place (the al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock), denounce the protest of Israeli police, which has effectively blocked any installation.
Jordanian Minister of Islamic Affairs, Hayel Daoud, states that his country will implement a "control center" for the video surveillance of the complex. The images will be posted online to "document all the aggressions and violations of Israel", added the minister, commenting that there will be no camera’s in the mosque.
For some time the area of the Temple Mount has been at the center of tension between Israelis and Palestinians with repeated clashes. Last September, Israeli security forces raided the al-Aqsa mosque, beating faithful. Unrest between Palestinian and Israel erupted within hours of the start of the celebrations for Rosh Hashanah, one of three New Years on the Jewish religious calendar.
The organization responsible for the protection of religious values (Waqf), which has custody of the sacred place, condemned Israeli expulsion of security guards placed on the esplanade by Jordan, who supervises the holy place according to the 1967status quo.
The al Aqsa clashes generated a new wave of violence (the intifada of the knives) which has so far caused 198 deaths among Palestinians, 28 Israeli, two Americans, an Eritrean national and a Sudanese.
For years, Jewish fundamentalists have penciled the Temple Mount as one of the places to "win back" to rebuild a new temple on the ruins of the mosque, and even access the site for prayer, which is still prohibited today.
The Israeli government says it will not change the status quo, at least according to official statements. For Muslims it is sacred because it marks the place where Muhammad was assumed into heaven, from the rock placed on top of the mountain. Finally, the place is also dear to Christians, because of the many times Jesus visited the Temple that had been built there.
.png)
07/10/2005
12/05/2021 09:30
