BICOM

The Government of Jordan has suspended its plan to place CCTV cameras on the Temple Mount following Palestinian pressure.

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told Petra News Agency that he was surprised by Palestinian opposition to the camera proposal. Quoted in the Times of Israel, he said:

“We were surprised since we announced our intention to carry out the project by the reactions of some of our brothers in Palestine who were sceptical about the project. We have found that this project is no longer enjoying a consensus, and it might be controversial. Therefore we have decided to stop implementing it.”

However, Israel Radio quoted a high-ranking Israeli official who told AFP that Israel still supported the camera plan, and claimed that Palestinians opposed the plan to prevent exposure of their provocative actions.

The plan to install cameras on the Temple Mount was endorsed by US Secretary of State John Kerry in October 2015 and was supported by Jordan and Israel. Theoretically, the idea behind the camera plan was to deter Israeli security forces’ activity on the Mount, but the Palestinian Authority was sceptical about the plans, with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki claiming that the cameras were a “new trap” that would enable Israel to “arrest Palestinians under the pretext of incitement”. Last week, notices were posted on the Mount threatening to smash the cameras.

According to the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh, the Palestinian Authority pays full-time protesters, known as al-Murabitoun, to harass Jewish visitors and police officers on the Temple Mount. He claims that it is this group that the PA is concerned would be exposed by the camera footage.

Originally, Israel wanted cameras to cover the whole area including inside the mosques, which have been used to hoard stones and Molotov cocktails. Jordan and the PA insisted on the cameras only being in open areas. The camera feeds were to be broadcast openly and transparently online.