The state plans to appeal a Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruling on Sunday regarding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount which reignited accusations that Israel violated the status-quo agreement that permits only Muslim worship at the holy site.
The Prime Minister’s Office immediately denied that any change had taken place to the status quo.
“There is no change, nor is any change planned, on the status quo of the Temple Mount,” it said.
There is no change, nor is any change planned, on the status quo of the Temple Mount
The Prime Ministers Office
The PMO issued a statement after the magistrate’s court on Sunday rejected a criminal case against three Jewish minors arrested for praying on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif – the Noble Sanctuary.
“The magistrate court’s decision is focused exclusively on the matter of conduct of the minors brought before it and does not include a broader determination regarding the freedom of worship on the Temple Mount,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding, “With regard to the specific criminal case in question, the government was informed that the state will file an appeal to the district court.”
Both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority immediately condemned the court ruling.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Haitham Abu Al Foul called the ruling “a flagrant violation of international legitimacy” that stressed the “need to preserve the status quo of the holy city,” the Jordan News Agency reported.The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has in the past recognized the rights of Jews to quietly pray at the site.
Judge Zion Sahrai in his ruling on Sunday was careful to clarify that he was speaking only with respect to the facts of the case, which involved minors who had bowed on the ground and recited the Shema, a daily Jewish prayer, “Hear O Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,” while visiting the site.
Sahrai said he did not believe their utterance of “Shema Yisrael” constituted a disturbance of the peace at a criminal level.
The minors would not have been in a position to discern wrongdoing given that Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Kobi Shabtai had spoken in April about freedom of worship at the site, he wrote.
Ynet had quoted Shabtai as saying, “The Temple Mount is open. We allow all residents of the state and the territories who come to pray on the Mount to ascend and observe their freedom to worship religiously.”
However, Sahrai was careful to explain that each one of these incidents must be examined on a case-by-case basis.The right-wing NGO Honenu, which had petitioned the court on behalf of the minors, hailed the ruling as a victory in support of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
Attorney Nati Rom said he welcomed the court’s “clear statement” in support of Jewish prayer. It was time that the police stopped their “racist treatment” of Jews who want to execute their right to freedom of worship at the ancient Jewish holy site, he said.
Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej (Meretz) said the ruling was “erroneous, irresponsible” and “dangerous.”
“One fool is enough to burn an entire forest,” he said.
The debate over the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount and the issue of the status quo there is part of a larger debate over control of the site, which is the holiest one in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.
Both Israeli and the Palestinian Authority believe the Temple Mount should be under their sovereignty, while Jordan maintains a special custodial relationship to the site.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu plans to make a private visit to the Aksa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount, during his two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories.