Waqf, PA: Removal of Security Measures Not Enough to End Standoff

Muslims continued to boycott the al-Aqsa Mosque Tuesday as Palestinian Authority and Waqf (Islamic trust) officials said that Israel’s removal of metal detectors and security cameras from entrances to the Temple Mount were not sufficient to end the standoff at the holy site. Both groups said they demanded a return to the status quo as it existed at the site before three Israeli Arabs emerged from the site and murdered two policemen on July 14.

Jerusalem Mufti Mohammed Hussein said in a statement that Islamic officials would not consider the issue closed until Muslims had the right to enter the al-Aqsa compound unfettered by any Israeli security measures, and demanded a commission of inquiry to study “Israeli aggressions” on the Temple Mount.

Israel Radio reported that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) will convene his advisors this evening to discuss the crisis. Abbas also dispatched veteran Fatah spokesman Nabil Shaath to the Israeli media to push the Palestinian position.

“Israel’s actions at al-Aqsa Mosque are intended to serve Israel’s political needs, under the guise of security,” Shaath said.

But according to some observers, the only party that matters on the street in eastern Jerusalem in the current instance is the Jordanian-administered Waqf, who are seen as having beaten Israel in the standoff over al-Aqsa.

Even before the current crisis, Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority were deeply unpopular amongst Palestinians, both for maintaining security collaboration with Israel and for failing to provide a political outlook. The Waqf’s successful demand for Israel to abandon security demands following a terror attack is likely to delegitimize the PA even further in the eyes of many Palestinians.

“The Waqf has emerged from this as an authentic Jerusalemite leadership group, and the strongest one” said Eran Tzidkiyahu, a licensed tour guide who specializes in Jerusalem who has served as a special adviser to various religious leaders, including the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs.

“If we assume that the metal detectors were removed as part of a deal between Jordan’s King Abdullah, who ‘officially’ controls the Temple Mount, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, then we can only draw one of two conclusions: Either the Waqf’s ongoing refusal to end the crisis has Abdullah’s stamp of approval, or the Waqf is trying to capitalize on its newfound (and unexpected) power to develop its own positions in order to poke its finger simultaneously in the eyes of both the King and the Palestinian Authority. The second scenario seems likely to me,” Tzidkiyahu said.