Protests have erupted following Israel’s decision to replace metal detectors at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem with advanced surveillance cameras.
The detectors were placed at the holy site after two guards were killed in a gun battle between Palestinians and Israeli forces on 14 July. Three other Israelis and five Palestinians died in the clashes that followed, while hundreds more have been injured, The Guardian reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Jerusalem Post calls the decision to remove the detectors as a "victory" for both sides.
However, Sheikh Najeh Bakirat, director of al-Aqsa Mosque, said the move "does not fulfil the demands of the Muslim worshippers, as the security cameras remain."
Security is not the only issue at the holy site, which is known as Temple Mount by Jews and the Haram al-Sharif by Muslims. The Palestinian view is that "giving in to metal detectors would in a way be seen as conceding to Israel's assertion of its sovereignty over the holy site and by extension to whole of Jerusalem", Brookings Institution fellow Khaled el-Gindy told al Jazeera.
UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov says a solution is needed by Friday as the dispute threatens to have "potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City".
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace planSpeed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Israel and the Gaza flotillaThe Explainer Activists fear loss of life after blaming Israel for drone attacks on ships
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
