25 July 2017

Haaretz: Israeli Police Officers: Decision to Place Metal Detectors at Temple Mount Was Careless

The decision to install metal detectors at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount was careless and taken without a thorough discussion of the matter at the top levels of the force, as had been prior practice on such sensitive matters, senior Israel Police officials said. According to the sources, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan also failed to follow a 2014 policy on the use of metal detectors. [...]

Erdan, who supported the introduction of the metal detectors, submitted the police recommendation in favor of the metal detectors to the security cabinet a day after the shooting attack on the Temple Mount. But senior police officials told Haaretz that, prior to the security cabinet meeting, Erdan had only consulted with Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich and with Jerusalem district chief Yoram Halevy, who wanted the metal detectors installed. [...]

Muslim leaders in Israel and abroad argue that the placement of metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount, which Muslims call Haram al-Sharif and which is the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, violates the status quo at the holy site.

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