Al-Aqsa Mosque's incident in July 2017: Affirming the policy of deterrence.

• Author: Omar, Abdallah Marouf
• Position: COMMENTARY - Essay

ABSTRACT The whole Middle East region passed through an upheaval and transformation for two weeks in the middle of July 2017. The event, now called: "The uprising of al-Asbat Gate," not only took place in the heart of Jerusalem, one of the most important cities in the world, but also in the heart of al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the most heated and sensitive spots on earth. Those two weeks could be indeed considered as a milestone in the ongoing clash in the Holy Land.

Background of the Events

On the eve of the British invasion of Palestine in 1917, the issue of the holy sites in Jerusalem, particularly al-Aqsa Mosque, was raised. It was the first time a non-Muslim power would control the holy city of Jerusalem and its holy sites since the end of the Crusades. This also came alongside the Balfour Declaration, which promised to assist in establishing a Jewish state in the majority-Muslim-inhabited Palestine. The sensitivity of al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims was at that time a major challenge for the British authorities. Perhaps this was the reason why Britain initially did not oppose the formation of the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem in 1921. (1)

However, the following events that took place in Jerusalem showed to what extent the case of the holy sites in Jerusalem, particularly al-Aqsa Mosque, could be inflammable. In April 1920, the first ever Palestinian uprising against the British mandate erupted. It was a result of Jewish harassment of Muslims celebrating a Muslim festival, known as Nabi Musa (Prophet Moses). (2) 1929 marked one of the largest Palestinian uprisings against the British mandate, known as the al-Buraq Revolution. It erupted as a direct result of a Jewish attempt to change the status quo in al-Buraq Wall (usually referred to as the Western Wall/Wailing Wall in Western writings). This uprising witnessed riots all over Palestine with hundreds of casualties on both sides. It only ended when a special committee, formed by the League of Nation in 1930, studied claims to the wall by both Muslims and Jews. The committee issued its report in 1931 assuring that "to the Muslims belong the sole ownership of, and the sole proprietary right to, the Western Wall." (3)

Riots and the large number of casualties during the al-Buraq Revolution built a psychological barrier between Britain, alongside its Zionist allies, and the al-Aqsa Mosque. It established a deterrence equation that can be summarized in one very important fact, namely, that disturbing the situation in al-Aqsa Mosque could lead to very serious consequences. This policy ruled the relationship between the future Jewish state and Jerusalem even before its establishment. The 1948 war resulted in the division of Palestine into the new Jewish state "Israel," Gaza strip under Egyptian administration and the West Bank under Jordanian rule. The West Bank, alongside the Eastern side of Jerusalem, including the Old City and the holy sites, became part of the newly formed Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1950. This meant, at that time, that the sovereignty over the holy sites in Jerusalem moved to Jordan and since then it has been the sovereign and sole administrator of al-Aqsa Mosque. A special department, namely the Department of al-Aqsa Mosque, was formed within the Jordanian Ministry of Waqf and Islamic Affairs.

On June 7, 1967, the third day of the Six Day War, Israeli troops broke into the Old City of Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque. The mosque was closed for numerous days, and the Israeli occupation authorities seized the keys of the mosque's gates. Israel tried to enforce its sovereignty over the mosque, by ordering the Muslim administration of al-Aqsa to report to the Israeli Ministry of Religions. However, Muslim scholars refused to recognize the new authority, and insisted that the Mosque shall remain under the status quo as the occupation was illegal. Numerous scholars gathered in Jerusalem in July 1967, and declared the formation of the Supreme Islamic Council, to represent Muslims of Jerusalem. This resulted in returning the keys of the al-Aqsa Mosque's gates, except that of the Magharibah (Moroccan) Gate, which is still under Israeli control. (4) It seems that the previous experience during the British mandate played a significant role in the Israeli government's decision to return the administration of the mosque to Muslim authorities. The Supreme Islamic Council, since then, has played an important role in safeguarding the Muslim sovereignty over the mosque, and handing it back to the Jordanian Waqf authorities.

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Another reason for the return of authority over al-Aqsa Mosque to Jordan, was that Israeli occupation of Eastern Jerusalem has not been recognized by the international community. As a result of the international pressure, Israel adopted the "Protection of the Holy Places" Law in 1967, hoping to "assuage some of the concerns of the international community." (5)

The Jordanian role in maintaining and administrating the holy sites in Jerusalem was also reaffirmed in the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, signed in 1994. Article 9 of the peace treaty deals with "places of historical and religious significance and interfaith relations." Israel, according to this article, "respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem." (6) This section of the treaty usually refers to the continuous preserve of the status quo in al-Aqsa Mosque.

Dispute on What Al-Aqsa Is!

Israel had a different translation of the section related to the places of religious significance in the peace treaty with Jordan. This section refers to Muslim Holy "shrines," not Holy "sites." Israel interpreted the clause as being a reference to specific shrines within the al-Aqsa compound, namely the two main buildings with leaded and golden domes. However, Jordan's attention was later drawn to this confusion. In many cases, Israeli troops broke into the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque, avoiding entrance of the buildings within the compound, and then claimed that Israeli troops did not break into "al-Aqsa Mosque." This led Jordanian authorities to define al-Aqsa Mosque as being the whole compound within the walls, known sometimes as Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). In a treaty signed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on March 31, 2013, both sides define al-Aqsa Mosque as being "al-Masjid al-Aqsa with its 144 Dunums, (7) which include the Qibli Mosque of al-Aqsa, the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock and all its mosques, buildings, walls, courtyards, attached areas over and beneath the ground and the Waqf properties tied-up to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, to its environs or to its pilgrims (... referred to as 'al-Haram al-Sharif')." (8)

Yet, Israel insists on identifying al-Aqsa Mosque as being a small building. In an official statement published on November 17, 2014, Israel defines the area as...