Temple Mount Crisis: In addition to the decision to dismantle the metal detector installed at the entrances to the Temple Mount, the political-security cabinet decided Tuesday night that the cameras installed at the entrances three days ago would also be removed. This means that Israel agreed to return the situation that existed before the attack in which two policemen were murdered on the Temple Mount a week and a half ago. Ministers Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, and Ze’ev Elkin voted against the decision to remove the security measures.
The participants in the discussion said that it was clear to them that this was part of the matter, and that there were also considerations related to the rapid return of the security guard and the end of the crisis with Jordan.
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Now it becomes clear that in the past the police were asked to prepare a plan that would include placing magnetometers at the entrances to the Temple Mount. After the attack, in which police officers Eyal Sattawi and Kamil Shinan were murdered, it was decided to implement the plan. It should be noted that the police did not recommend setting up the magnetometers but only implemented the plan that was planned in the past.
Prayers who arrived at the entrance to the Temple Mount compound said this morning that they do not intend to enter as long as the cameras remain in place. They promised to continue the struggle.
Meanwhile, Waqf members convened to discuss the new procedures and an alternative to magnetometers, which includes advanced means of inspection at a cost of NIS 100 million. The worshipers wait for Waqf instruction. The Fatah movement has already issued a poster that also objects to the stationing of cameras. A source in the Waqf told Ynet News that even before it became known that the cameras had been removed, this alternative also did not satisfy them.
MK Betzalel Samotrich (the Jewish House) said in response to the decision that it constitutes “capitulation and surrender to terrorism. The leadership folded and provided a victory for terrorism and violence. “He said,” Leadership is tested in the ability to make good and long-term decisions even if they are not popular in the immediate future. Now the Arabs understand that a massacre in a Jewish family was worthwhile and can fold us. “He added:” I am pleased to discover the leadership of ministers Bennett, Shaked and Elkin, who according to the reports preferred the security interest to populism and voted against the surrender. ”
The decision to remove the metal detectors comes after a period of heightened tensions following a terrorist attack at the Temple Mount in which two police officers were killed. The decision to erect the metal detectors was met with shooting and clashes from Arabs in Israel and abroad.
The crisis reached a peak Monday when an Israeli embassy guard in Amman shot dead to two Jordanians in self-defense after being attacked by one wielding a screwdriver, who managed to stab the guard twice before being shot and killed.
In light of the escalation, President Trump’s Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt was dispatched to the region to help reach a peaceful solution.
Greenblatt met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday before traveling to Jordan to finalize details of a plan that would have the metal detectors removed from the Temple Mount and the return of the Israeli embassy guard to Israel.
The diplomatic staff of Israel’s embassy in Jordan, including a security guard who shot dead two Jordanians after he was attacked by one of them, returned to Israel on Monday night, bringing a 28-hour-long crisis to an end.
By Itamar Eichner and Hassan Shalaan, Ynet News
