CAIRO, KOMPAS — Israel\'s step to remove the metal detectors at the main entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been met with caution. The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf continued on Tuesday to instruct Muslim residents to pray outside the mosque.
The Al-Aqsa crisis, which was triggered by the installation of metal detectors at Asbath Gate – or the Lion’s Gate – after two Israeli policemen were killed in a shootout on July 14 with three Palestinian men, has started to settle down. The crisis began to cool slightly after the Israeli government on Tuesday removed the metal detectors at the gate and replaced them with CCTV cameras. Asbath Gate is the main entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Kompas reporter Musthafa Abd Rahman, who monitored the crisis from Cairo, Egypt, reported that the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf – or Islamic religious endowments organization– in East Jerusalem had formed a technical committee to examine the decision of the Israeli government. The organization constitutes the highest authority with the capacity to make decisions on religious issues in East Jerusalem and on daily affairs at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
"We have to know all the details before deciding to pray in the mosque compound," said Mohammed Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post mentioned that the CCTV cameras would replace the metal detectors as a form of less visible security. The smart cameras reportedly cost about US$28 million.
Indonesia\'s stance
Indonesia also responded with cautionto the latest situation at Al-Aqsa. Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi asked the Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan in Amman to double-check the information about the Israel’s removal of the metal detectors and to determine whether other obstacles have arisen with other security devices, including the installation of CCTV cameras.
For Indonesia, Retno said, freedom of worship was very important and was part of citizen’s basic rights. Contacted after briefing several ambassadors of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries in Jakarta on Tuesday, she reaffirmed the importance of the OIC to take the same stance and position in responding to the latest developments at Al-Aqsa.
"We have to do something to stop the violence at Al-Aqsa," Retno said.
In its statement on the Al-Aqsa crisis, Muhammadiyah’s central board of executives urged the Indonesian government to take the diplomatic initiative to settle the Palestinian issue.
In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected Israel to take further steps towards peace in the region. In a speech in front of parliamentary members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), he urged all Muslims to visit Jerusalem and secure the city.
However, given that the compound of Jerusalem\'s Old City is still under Israeli security, visits to the area during the crisis would certainly be examined by Israeli authorities. An Indonesian pilgrim who visited Al-Aqsa Mosque in early July said he was examined using a metal detector, as was usual at shopping malls in Indonesia.
Praying outside
Regarding the Israel’s removal of the metal detectors, a press statement by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf emphasized that the five daily prayers would temporarily be held outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound– as they have been since the installation of the metal detectors in protest against Israel – until the technical committee submitted its report.
"If the technical committee reports that the situation at the mosque compound has returned to normal as before July 14, the five daily prayers will be held in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound," said the organization’s statement.
"If the committee reports otherwise, it means the crisis is not over yet and the prayers will still be held outside the compound."
Israel\'s surprise decision to remove the metal detectors, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, constituted the results of a compromise between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah II during a telephone conversation on Monday evening.
The compromise is that Israel would remove the metal detectors in exchange for the unconditional return of the Israeli security officers involved in Sunday’s fatal shooting of two Jordanians at the Israeli Embassy in Amman. After the Netanyahu-Abullah II agreement, the Israeli security cabinet held an emergency session and decided to replace the metal detectors with smart cameras.
The Israeli security officers were accompanied by a number of Israeli diplomats on Monday evening as they crossed the Allenby Bridge connecting Jordan and the West Bank and returned to Israel. The Al-Aqsa crisis is growing increasingly complex after the fatal shooting of the two Jordanians by Israeli security personnel at the Israeli Embassy in Amman.
Since the establishment of Jordanian-Israeli diplomatic relations in 1994, the two countries have experienced several diplomatic crises. The Jordan Times reported that in the telephone conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, King Abdullah II asked Israel not to make any new provocations and focus more on seeking consensus to prevent the situation from escalating.
"The two countries have an interestin settling the incident in a very friendly way, as long as they are able to maintain the perception of preserving their national interests," said Oded Eran, former Israeli ambassador to Jordan.