by Keren Setton
JERUSALEM David Sharpe Jersey , July 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel's installation of metal detectors at a contested holy shrine in East Jerusalem that triggered off a wave of violence is an act of stupidity, an Israeli expert told Xinhua in an interview on Sunday.
"Putting the metal detectors is stupidity. It shows lack of understanding of the conflict," said Ronni Shaked, head of Middle East Studies Department of the Truman Institute at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Israel's banning Muslims from prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, "means not only hurting the Palestinians, but offending the entire Muslim world," Shaked said.
The site, revered by Jews as the holiest site, has been the focal point of repeated Israeli-Palestinian tensions and clashes for the past decades since Israel took over East Jerusalem in the 1967 War.
Israel has been holding security control over East Jerusalem, though the mosque compound has been managed by Muslim authorities.
The latest wave of violence erupted sine July 14 after a shooting incident, in which two Israeli police officers were shot dead by three Israeli Arab gunmen after Friday prayers at the mosque. The three attackers were killed later on the compound by Israeli police.
In response, Israel decided to set up metal detectors and cameras at the entrances to the compound as security measures to prevent further attacks.
Israel also banned Palestinians under 50 from access to the mosque for doing prayers on Friday, sparking widespread angry protests in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Israeli moves were seen by Palestinians and the Muslim world as a provocation and an attempt to alter the status quo on the holy site.
Renewed clashes have already resulted in loss of lives of both Palestinians and Israelis in the past week.
Three Palestinians were killed in clashes on Friday, while hundreds of others were wounded by Israeli forces. Hours after that, a Palestinian attacker stabbed to death three members of a Jewish family inside their home in a West Bank settlement.
Shaked said that he believes the conflict has taken on an increasingly religious tone, noting that the detectors are just a symptom of a wider problem.
"The Temple Mount has become not only a religious symbol but a national religious symbol, as it is now used as a resource for politicians and the public to promote the struggle and the conflict between the two sides," said Shaked.
Tensions keep rising over the past days after the clashes, especially after Israel refused to heed the calls for dismantling the detectors.
To add to the tensions, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he was "freezing" all ties with Israel. In response, the Israeli army has beefed up its presence in the West Bank.
The boiling point has been reached and without international interference, it seems the tensions and bloodshed are not going away, Shaked said.
"The Palestinians feel they are on the losing side throughout the years, they feel that the last stronghold is the Al Aqsa mosque which they feel has been given to them as a deposit by the Muslim world in order to defend it from a Jewish invasion," he said.
Indeed, for all Palestinians, who on other matters may be deeply divided, are united on the issue of Jerusalem because they see it as the cornerstone of their national identity. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"This conflict has been going on for a long time. Its religious aspect makes it easier to gather the public's support for the struggle," said Shaked.
The international community has not recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Eastern part of the city, the holy sites within.
From 1967 to about five years ago, the status quo was maintained as non-Muslims were not allowed on the site. But in recent years, the right-wing Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed a trickle of Jewish presence on the site.
Israeli media reported that security officials had strongly advised the government against putting up the detectors, citing their inciteful potential. But the Israeli government ignored their advice.
While the Israeli government has repeatedly said it intends to uphold the status-quo, its actions speak otherwise.
Amid international calls for calming down the tensions, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the violence in East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers will also hold an urgent conference in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday to coordinate their response to Israel's provocations.
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