An article in the official newspaper of the Hamas terrorist organization claimed victory after the Jerusalem District Court reversed the Magistrate Court's ruling permitting Jews to pray silently on the Temple Mount, stating that "it is in fact a surrender to the threats made by the Palestinians."
In an article in the Hamas-run 'Palestine' newspaper (Gaza, Hamas), 'Abd al-Rahman Yunis, a journalist and editor, writes: "Yesterday, it (the district court) overturned the (magistrate) court's decision to allow Talmudic prayer for fear that the situation in the Palestinian territories would explode or lead to a new confrontation with the resistance in Gaza."
"The backpedaling was a result of the pressure exerted by the residents of Jerusalem who felt the danger embodied in the decision, which is not limited at any stage or time, but will continue to establish a new policy for the occupied state," the article said.
Yunis added: "If the silent prayers were allowed today, then tomorrow the ground will be prepared for the taking of the Jordanian guardianship (on the Temple Mount) and the Al Aqsa Mosque will be divided according to criteria of time and space."
According to Yunis, "This backpedaling did not take place in a vacuum. The Palestinians took the initiative - because they are the most deserving and have the greatest ability - and eventually stopped it, after they revolted against it as one and confronted it everywhere. They did this with their backs protected from the south (from the Gaza Strip) because they know that there are (in Gaza) people standing in the missile positions waiting for the decisive moment, and because they know that silence on this decision or agreeing to its implementation will result in the loss of their right to the Al Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they canceled their prayers before they even began."
On Tuesday, Justice Bilhha Yahalom of the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that silent prayers on the Temple Mount cannot be construed as a criminal act, and ordered police to drop a restraining order imposed on Rabbi Aryeh Lippo, who had been barred from the Mount over his silent prayers.
“His daily visits to the Temple Mount indicate how important this is for him,” Justice Yahalom wrote in her decision.
Police appealed the Magistrate's Court's decision, and Public Security Minister Omar Bar-Lev even warned of a regional flare-up: "A change in the existing status quo will endanger public peace and could cause a flare-up," the minister said.
On Friday, the District Court overturned Yahalom's decision.