Recent clashes between the Israelis and the Palestinians have turned Jerusalem’s holiest site – the Temple Mount to the Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to the Muslims– into a dangerous zone. In an attempt to prevent another wave of violence, Israel and Jordan have agreed on installing round-the-clock cameras at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The outside plaza of the compound is currently under video surveillance but not on the inside. On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Berlin. On Saturday, Mr. Kerry met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman, to discuss a possible action plan directed at stopping insurgencies at the holy site. While Kerry approved of the idea with cameras, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, on the contrary, called it a “new trap” directed against Muslim worshipers (Al Jazeera).
Stabbings and shootings between the Israelis and the Palestinians emerged in the beginning of October. Al Jazeera reports at least fifty-seven Palestinians and eight Israelis deaths since then. According to BBC News, assumptions formed among the Palestinians that Israel is planning to change the status quo for worship at Al-Aqsa mosque– a claim which Israel has been denying–has led to an escalation of tension. Many wonder whether these insurgencies can result into another Palestinian Intifada (uprising). In the past, there have been two Palestinian uprisings in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against Israeli occupation, the first beginning in 1987 and the second in 2000. In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty, which obliged Israel to respect “the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem”. However, the treaty didn’t grant any “legal, political or religious authority over Islamic holy shrines in Jerusalem” (Al Jazeera).
Though opinions regarding the effectiveness of 24/7 video monitoring vary, Netanyahu was quick to defend Israel’s interest in the cameras, claiming they were there:
“Firstly, to refute the claim of Israel violating the status quo; and secondly, to show where the provocations are really coming from to prevent them in advance,”
Whether or not cameras will prove to be useful in increasing transparency between the two sides will be revealed in time. However, the leaders should not rely on video monitoring as a long-term solution. Instead, they should perceive it as an auxiliary tool or a temporary peacekeeping maneuver while they are searching for the real solution. Al-Aqsa is known to be sacred to Muslims and Jews, therefore security within it should be of great importance for both of them, and that requires respect for one another’s access to the sacred site.
- California’s Controversial Prop. 24 Seeks To Establish The Strongest Data Regulations Ever Seen In The U.S. - September 7, 2020
- Federal Reserve Institutes Sweeping Transformation of U.S. Monetary Policy - August 31, 2020
- Russia Releases Controversial COVID-19 Vaccine - August 23, 2020