Israeli court closes holy site flashpoint, goads Jordan to respond
An Israeli court has temporarily closed an embattled Al-Aqsa site in an effort to relieve the simmering tension there and pressure Jordan into engaging with it.
The Israeli courts have been brought into the ongoing pre-election tensions over access to a site within Al-Haram al-Sharif/Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli prosecution has asked the courts to help resolve the conflict that has left the Old City of Jerusalem in constant tension ever since Muslim worshipers decided they are not obliged to accept the unilateral Israeli ban on using the site.
Since the newly appointed and expanded Islamic Waqf Council held prayers at Bab al-Rahmeh on Feb. 14, the issue of who has the right to use the location — which lies within the UNESCO World Heritage site — has been a source of controversy.
Israeli political and security officials have been battling with worshipers who insist on their right to use the facility as they see fit. Israel claims that turning the site into a mosque is a violation of the status quo.
The Israeli government petitioned the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court to issue an interim injunction closing the site. In the court's ruling approving the closure of Bab al-Rahmeh, Judge Dorit Feinstein wrote that the site may only be used with prior coordination with Israeli security.
