(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Why is the Palestinian Authority opposed to Jordan's proposal to install surveillance cameras at Jerusalem's Temple Mount? The idea was first raised by Jordan's King Abdullah in a bid to ease tensions at the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem. The PA and Islamic Movement in Israel hired scores of Muslim men and women to harass Jewish visitors to the site. The men are called Murabitoun, while the women are Murabitat. The installation of surveillance cameras at the site will expose the aggressive behavior of the Murabitoun and Murabitat, and show the world who is really "desecrating" the Islamic holy sites and turning them into a base for assaulting and abusing Jewish visitors. The cameras also are likely to refute the claim that Jews are "violently invading" al-Aksa Mosque and holding prayers at the Temple Mount. Now, the cameras will show that Jews do not enter al-Aksa Mosque, as the Palestinians have been claiming. The Palestinians also fear that the cameras would expose how they have been smuggling stones, firebombs and pipe bombs into al-Aksa Mosque for the past two years, scenes they do not want the world to see. Moreover, the PA position could be seen as an attempt to change the status quo at the holy site by driving the Jordanians out of the area, arguing that the Palestinians, and not the Jordanians, should be in charge of the site.
2015-11-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive