Q. APN: In addition to the
Amman Understandings of 2014 and 2015, what can/should be done to preserve/restore/calibrate the
Status Quo, and prevent future eruptions of violence centered on the site?
A. DS: First off, the solution to the current crisis
over the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif is not to try to formalize the Status Quo. The
undefined and flexible (within certain limits) nature of the Status Quo has been critical to the
durability of arrangements at the site - and the relative stability of the site - since 1967. Any
effort to force the sides to articulate precise, formal definitions of the Status Quo will lead not
to reconciliation of these views, but to greater conflict and further undermining arrangements
that, under responsible stewardship, have proven durable and beneficial to all sides. That said,
there are things both sides should do today to restore the Status Quo so that it can remain durable
and beneficial to both sides in the future.
Israel-Jordan Overall Coordination: Ongoing cooperation and coordination between
Israel and the Waqf - on all issues relevant to preserving security and smooth daily operations on
the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif - must be restored. The October 2015 understandings reached
between the parties in Amman should be leveraged as a first step to achieving this.
Palestinian involvement: By marginalizing the Palestinian role on the site and
denying the Palestinian Authority any formal involvement, Israel and Jordan have generated
considerable hostility to the 2015 understandings among Palestinians. Any efforts to achieve
stability in Jerusalem will require greater involvement of the Palestinians, at both the political
level and in daily management issues. While current political constraints and the dynamics on the
ground make obtaining Israeli and Jordanian consent to any significant and visible Palestinian
involvement, beyond involvement at the informal level, highly unlikely at this stage, ways to
enhance the role of the Palestinians must be pursued.
Access Visits and Worship: Commitments made as part of the 2015 Jordan-Israel
understandings, regarding preserving the site as a site for Muslim visit and worship, and a site
for non-Muslim visit (but not worship), must be maintained, in letter and in spirit.
Security: Jordan-Israel coordination and cooperation with respect to security at
the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif must return and be strengthened. The October 2015 decision to
introduce security cameras at the site should be leveraged as a first step to achieving this. In
this context, the sides must work urgently to define and implement operational security approaches
and standard operating procedures for times of crisis that both sides agree do not violate the
Status Quo. In addition, Israeli decisions related to closure or restrictions on access to the site
must be de-politicized, consistent with the genuine security interests of Israel and Israel's
commitment to preserving the Status Quo. Finally, the Waqf should be pressed to implement its
responsibilities in the handling of Palestinian provocateurs. To that end, Israel and Jordan should
cooperate to assess ways to strengthen the Waqf's capacity to carry out its security
responsibility, including examining the number of the Waqf security personnel who should be at the
site.
Daily Operations: Improved Jordan-Israel coordination and cooperation with respect
to maintenance and archaeology on the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif could have a salutatory effect
on tensions at the site. Granting the Waqf greater room to maneuver with respect to minor
maintenance works could have a positive effect on its motivation to act against Palestinian
provocateurs on the Esplanade.
Provocations: Israeli officials must refrain from provocative rhetoric vis-à-vis
the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif, and Prime Minister Netanyahu must continue to act against
provocative rhetoric and actions by Israeli public figures. Similarly, Jordanian and Palestinian
officials must clamp down on provocative Muslim rhetoric vis-à-vis the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif
and refrain from denying Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.
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