Jordan says no to cameras inside al-Aksa

Camera installation was a Jordanian idea monarch says, adding that they would be installed in cooperation with the Palestinians.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Updated: NOVEMBER 6, 2015 04:46
Jordan's King Abdullah addresses European Parliament (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jordan's King Abdullah addresses European Parliament
(photo credit: REUTERS)
No cameras will be installed inside al-Aksa Mosque, Jordanian King Abdullah said on Wednesday evening.
Two weeks ago, Israel and Jordan agreed that cameras would be placed throughout the Temple Mount.
Israel wants all areas of the compound to be filmed to prove that it is not violating the status quo that only allows Muslim to pray on the Temple Mount, although non-Muslims are allowed to visit.
Claims that Israel changed the rules have sparked Palestinian attacks against Jews.
Abdullah told a delegation of east Jerusalem figures during a meeting in Amman that it would take six weeks to install the surveillance cameras on the entire compound.
Voicing opposition to any change of the status quo at the holy site, the monarch said that the installation of cameras was a Jordanian idea. He stressed that they would be installed in cooperation with the Palestinians.
Referring to Palestinian criticism of the agreement to install the cameras, reached under the auspices of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Abdullah said: “Each time Jordan takes an official position, there are those who are skeptical.
The project of installing the cameras is a Jordanian project that will be carried out through the [Jordanian- controlled] Wakf Department in cooperation with our Palestinian brothers.”
Addressing Palestinian fears that Israel could use the cameras to identify Palestinians to be arrested for incitement, the king told the delegation members: “I want to be clear, there will be no cameras inside the mosque. But according to experts, it would take six weeks to operate the cameras in a way that would cover the entire compound.”
The Temple Mount is under the custodianship of the Jordanian monarchy and the Wakf Islamic trust.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.