Israel removed an overhead metal bridge and the railings it had recently installed near a contested Jerusalem holy site, meeting a demand by Muslim protesters and causing thousands of Palestinians to celebrate in the streets early Thursday.
Muslim leaders said they would decide later in the day whether worshippers could return to the shrine for prayers and end a crisis that Israel hoped it had resolved by making concessions at the site.
The head of the Supreme Islamic Committee, Ikrema Sabri, had said previously that worshippers would not return to the shrine until Israel removed the new railings and cameras it installed after a deadly attack there.
Sabri said that even after Israel removed metal detectors, more steps were required to restore calm. He said mass prayer protests would continue until the gates of the compound are opened, metal railings and an iron bridge removed and newly installed cameras removed.
Israeli authorities closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, venerated by Muslims and Jews — who call the site Temple Mount — and canceled weekly Friday prayers for the first time in nearly five decades, following a deadly shootout July 14.
The mosque was later reopened after police installed metal detectors and cameras at its gates.
Muslims protested the measures in demonstrations and clashes with police that led to the deaths of 11 people, including eight Palestinians. But Israel refused to remove the detectors, claiming the security measures were similar to procedures used at other holy sites around the world.
Bowing to international pressure, Israel’s security cabinet decided to remove the metal detectors but said a new surveillance system using “smart checks” based on advanced technology would be put in place.
Netanyahu appeared to be doubling back again Wednesday when he instructed police forces to conduct thorough inspections at the site.
The latest development could put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot, as he tries to tamp out a wave of unrest that has triggered international pressure while not appearing to his hard-line base as capitulating.
His government has faced a growing backlash at home for what critics said was hasty decision-making and embarrassing policy reversals. Even Israel Hayom, a free daily owned by Netanyahu’s billionaire patron Sheldon Adelson, denounced Israel’s response to the crisis as “feeble and frightened.”
In an unprecedented headline, the paper — which has been an unequivocal source of support for the prime minister — led with “Netanyahu’s demonstration of helplessness.”
Israeli police, meanwhile, acknowledged their forces have been preventing journalists from entering parts of Jerusalem’s Old City. Reporters have said they were being blocked this week from covering the unrest around the shrine while tourists have been able to freely move about the city and film with their mobile phones.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said “journalists are being prevented from coming in those specific areas where there have been disturbances and riots.” He said it was a decision made by the Jerusalem police district.
The Foreign Press Association derided the move, calling it “a kind of innovative censorship that is surprising in a country that prides itself on press freedom.”
