‘Israeli officials, extremists cannot prevent Jordan from installing cams at Al Aqsa’

AMMAN — The Israeli occupation authorities and right wing cannot prevent Jordan from installing surveillance cameras in Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif compound, Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said on Monday.

He stressed that Jordan is entitled to take this measure in light of the custodianship of His Majesty King Abdullah of the mosque according to the provisions of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty signed in 1994, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Momani said the compound extending over an area of 144 dunums is for Muslims alone, and no one has the right to intervene in its affairs. 

The goal of installing the cameras is to preserve the identity of Al Aqsa and record any violations by Israeli extremists and the Israeli occupation forces, Momani said. 

The Israeli Radio has reported that Israeli extremists have filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court, and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding authorities to prevent Jordan from installing the cameras, claiming that the measure violates the “unified Jerusalem law” and implies acknowledgement of Jordan’s sovereignty on Al Haram Al Sharif. 

On Friday, in remarks to Jordan Television, Momani, who is also minister of state for media affairs and communications, said no cameras will be installed in the prayer areas in the mosque because the goal is to record Israeli violations.

The Jerusalem Awqaf Department, which is affiliated with the Awqaf Ministry, will be in charge of the cameras through a control room, he noted, stressing the legal, moral and religious importance of this step, aimed at safeguarding holy sites against Israeli acts of aggression.

By installing the cameras, Jordan seeks to document these violations and enable 1.7 billion Muslims to follow what is happening in the courtyards of Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, on the Internet, Momani said.

He stressed that Al Haram Al Sharif is a purely Islamic waqf [an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law], and Israel is the occupying force, noting that Tel Aviv will never be safe if it continues to provoke 1.7 billion Muslims by violating the sanctity of these shrines.