In the past weeks, Palestinian leaders from both Fatah and Hamas have been inciting their people to violence with claims that Israel is planning to change the “status quo” on the Temple Mount. By this they mean the longstanding policy that gives administrative control of the area to Muslim religious authorities, allows unrestricted access to Muslims, and restricts Jewish access. But, argues Nadav Shragai, the “status quo” is no status quo at all. The areas designated for Muslim prayer have expanded, and Jews, long forbidden from praying there, are now sharply curtailed even from visiting. At the heart of the problem is Israel’s reluctance to enforce its laws:
Amid ongoing [Muslim] damage to antiquities, blatant violations of the laws on planning, construction, and antiquities on the Mount, and repeated appeals to Israel’s supreme court by different [Jewish] groups, as well as political activity by members of Knesset and other public figures, constant tension has arisen between the Muslim religious authorities and the state of Israel concerning the enforcement of Israeli law on the Temple Mount.
In response, the state has entrusted the attorney general and a special ministerial committee to decide on issues related to law enforcement in the compound. The ministerial committee has not convened for many years, and was reactivated only a few years ago. The attorney general is very cautious about applying Israeli law to the Temple Mount and sometimes has even refrained from doing so, preferring to deal with this issue through unofficial dialogue with the Muslims via the Israel police. The police, for their part, have often preferred to keep things quiet on the Temple Mount even if the “price” entails compromising the rule of law, damage to antiquities, or violating planning and construction laws.
Read more on Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: http://jcpa.org/article/status-quo-on-temple-mount