BICOM

The head of the Arab League yesterday declared that Arab grievances regarding additional Israel security measures on the Temple Mount were over, while warning against a “religious war”.

Ahmed Abul Gheit, the head of the Arab League, said Israel’s “provocative and illegal actions solves the crisis they themselves created,” adding that “such imprudence poses a real threat of igniting a religious war, because no Muslim in the world accepts tarnishing al-Aqsa or its closure in the face of the worshippers or placing it under Israeli control”.

On Wednesday morning Israel removed the metal detectors that had been installed following the terror attack in the Temple Mount compound. On Thursday morning Israel complied fully with a list of demands from the Waqf, which included reverting access to its levels prior to July 14, reopening five gates to the Temple Mount closed in the latest crisis, the removal of new cameras installed in the Temple Mount area, and the removal of the metal barriers placed at the entrances.

Following these steps by Israel, UK Minister for Middle East Alistair Burt said that he welcomed “the progress made to resolve tensions at the Haram Al-Sharif / Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, including Israel’s decision to remove metal detectors,” which happened on Tuesday.

Yesterday the US echoed Minister Burt’s statement. US Special Representative Jason Greenblatt said: “The United States welcomes the efforts undertaken to de-escalate tensions in Jerusalem today. We believe that calm and security will create the best opportunity to return to dialogue and the pursuit of peace.”

Saudi Arabia also took credit for resolving the crisis. The royal house in Riyadh announced that King Salman had held talks in the last few days with US officials and with the leaders of various countries on the situation at the al-Aqsa Mosque and that these talks had been crowned a success.