Waqf renews demand to cancel new security arrangements

Palestinian sources say a meeting was held earlier today between a representative of the Islamic Waqf, which administers the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound atop the Temple Mount, and Jerusalem Police chief Deputy Commissioner Yoram Halevy.

It’s the second meeting between the two.

The Waqf representative, an attorney charged with carrying out talks with Israeli officials, demands that conditions at the site “return to what they were before” the July 14 terror attack that left two Israeli cops dead.

That includes reopening five gates to the Temple Mount closed in the latest crisis, removal of five new cameras installed in the Mount area, and removal of metal railings placed at the entrances.

The Israel Police says in response that it maintains regular contact with the Waqf over the situation at the Mount, but there are no negotiations taking place.

With the security arrangements ordered by Israel’s cabinet completed, the Temple Mount is now open to Muslim worshipers, and a few dozen worshipers are visiting the site on a private basis, police say.

When the Waqf agrees to renew regular prayer at the site, it will enjoy the cooperation of the police, a spokesperson adds.

— Avi Issacharoff