Palestinian Arabs are celebrating Israel’s removal of security measures on the Temple Mount as a “victory.”
On Monday night, the Security Cabinet decided to remove the metal detectors from the Temple Mount and the detectors were subsequently taken down, along with the existing security cameras on the Mount.
The Cabinet declared that it would instead install “smart check” monitoring technology, which doesn't require physical checks, on the Mount within the next six months, and allocated a budget of up to 100 million shekels for this purpose.
On Wednesday night, newly-installed railings and scaffolding where cameras were previously mounted were removed from the entrance to the compound. The removal of the railings was one of the demands raised by the Waqf, the Jordanian trust which manages Muslim sites on the Temple Mount, to end the crisis.
In the meantime, Palestinian Arabs said, according to Channel 2, that leaflets were distributed in PA neighborhoods calling on the masses to come out and celebrate. They claimed that Israeli security forces were trying to prevent journalists from covering the celebrations.
According to Channel 10, PA officials proclaimed “victory” against Israel, and said that Netanyahu had caved in.
“We have defeated Israel in the struggle over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Netanyahu caved in completely.” They said that they would announce the victory officially this morning.
The calls reflect similar ones made by Hamas on Wednesday in Gaza, when members of Hamas’ military wing held a march in Gaza City under the heading of “Victory in the battle over Al-Aqsa Mosque,” bearing Palestinian flags and a model of the Dome of the Rock Mosque.
Similarly, Hamas called on supporters in Judea and Samaria to hold a “Day of Rage” on Friday and to confront Israeli security forces, as a “[reaction] to recent events in order to deter Israel from continued infractions against our nation and our holy sites.”
Even the Israeli public apparently considers the removal of the security measures a surrender. A poll released by Channel 2 News this week found that 68% of Israelis thought it was right to place the metal detectors on the Temple Mount - and 77% viewed the removal of the detectors as a surrender.