https://arab.news/mnb3j
One of the bedrocks of the 19th-century status quo agreement governing Jerusalem’s holy places is that each faith community has the exclusive right to pray in its own houses of worship. This principle was reaffirmed on Nov. 13, 2014, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah, in the presence of then-US Secretary of State John Kerry, summarized it in one simple but important sentence: “Al-Aqsa is for Muslims to pray and for all others to visit.”
Yet, in recent years, this status quo has been eroding at an alarming pace. Jewish groups continue to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound without coordination with its Muslim owners and Hashemite custodians. The number of incursions has increased, while Al-Aqsa guards, who are on the Jordanian waqf payroll, are prevented from enforcing the long-established rules.
The violations reached boiling point on Aug. 3, when Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led an extraordinarily large group of supporters into the mosque compound and openly carried out Jewish prayers. Videos circulated by the Temple Mount Administration, a small Jewish organization, showed Ben-Gvir leading his group inside the compound and additional footage appeared to show him praying. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry issued a scathing condemnation.
