海角大神

Can surveillance cameras ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Jordan and Israel have agreed to install additional security cameras near holy sites at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem, as a 'first step' to decreasing a month of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the city. 

|
Lefteris Pitarakis/AP/File
Israeli police officers look at screens showing parts of Jerusalem's Old City from about 300 outdoor cameras, Sept. 2004. Jordan's government suggested adding additional cameras to the Temple Mount area to decrease violence during talks with Israel and Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday.

Discussions about containing recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem have led to a proposed technological solution聽鈥 an increase of security cameras.

US Secretary of State John Kerry "an excellent suggestion."

"This will provide comprehensive visibility and transparency and that could really be a game changer in discouraging anybody from disturbing the sanctity of the holy site," Mr. Kerry said.聽

King Abdullah II of Jordan to the Al-Aqsa mosque and Western Wall compound as a way to curb the recent attacks in Jerusalem has experienced in recent weeks.

Kerry said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would announce the addition of the cameras聽鈥 and affirm an ongoing agreement that non-Muslims may visit the site but not pray there聽鈥 on Saturday night. A joint Israeli and Jordanian team is set to work on technical details for the security cameras in the next few days.

Jordan hosted the talks in its capitol both because of the working relationship Jordan and Israel have had since signing a peace treaty in 1994, and because Jordan is the compound's official custodian. 聽

This management of the Al-Aqsa mosque is vitally important to Jordan, where more than half the population identifies as a Palestinian refugee or the child or grandchild of one. The iconic Dome of the Rock structure adorns Jordan's paper money, and the government rejected efforts from wealthier Saudi Arabia to contribute money to a renovation project on the mosque in 1993.

During the Gaza War in the summer of 2014, Jordan's government its own country to expel the Israeli ambassador, limiting its official response to a pointed comment about "Jordan鈥檚 current very cold relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 government," the al-Monitor reported.

But when Israel shut down the Jerusalem mosque compound for a single day later that year, Jordan withdrew its ambassador. This was the first such diplomatic withdrawal since Jordan appointed an ambassador to Israel in 1994.

Jerusalem's holy sites have had surveillance from more than 300 cameras since at least 2004, and local police can monitor the closed-circuit coverage 24 hours a day, the Washington Post reported. It is unclear how these additional cameras would change the situation, but the announcement of the new cameras was the first tangible result of the month-long diplomatic discussions.

The violence has shown signs of slowing. Fridays generally see the most violence in Jerusalem, and the day before the talks was relatively quiet.聽

The Jordanian聽Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh聽spoke with Kerry, stating that the root cause of the problems is the lack of a Palestinian state, the Washington Post reported, but Kerry said the cameras are聽a "first step" that can precede other solutions alongside less inflammatory rhetoric by both sides.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥 Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to Can surveillance cameras ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Read this article in
/World/Global-News/2015/1024/Can-surveillance-cameras-ease-the-Israeli-Palestinian-conflict
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
/subscribe