The Islamic Waqf, which controls the Temple Mount complex, has instructed Muslim worshippers to continue protesting outside the compound, despite Israel’s removal of metal detectors from entrances.

The detectors were installed ten days ago, after three Arabs descended from the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount and shot two Israeli policemen. Last night, however, Israel’s security cabinet decided to remove them and replace them with “smart” security cameras. 

The Waqf officials had ordered worshippers not to enter the compound as a protest against Israeli “encroachment”, with prayers held on the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem instead. However, despite the removal of the detectors, the Waqf has continued to order Muslims not to enter the compound, with the smart cameras being described by protesters as “worse than the metal detectors”.

Last Friday, clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces led to the deaths of three Palestinians. On Friday night, a Palestinian broke into a home in the settlement of Halamish and murdered three people having a Shabbat meal.

Israel handed back control of the Temple Mount complex to the Islamic Waqf days after capturing the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967. The site, which is the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam, is exclusively set aside for Muslim prayer. Jews visiting the complex are followed by members of the Waqf to ensure that they do not pray there.

In a statement issued by the Waqf, the religious custodians of the site said they only permit Muslims to pray there "once all manifestations of aggression by the Zionist occupation are removed and the situation returns to what it was like before July 14."

Meanwhile, the Israeli security cabinet released its own statement saying that it had “accepted the recommendation of all of the security bodies to incorporate security measures based on advanced technologies (‘smart checks’) and other measures instead of metal detectors in order to ensure the security of visitors and worshippers in the Old City and on the Temple Mount”.

The statement also said it had been decided “to allocate a budget of up to NIS 100 million to implement the plan… over a time frame of up to six months”.