What does the ‘status quo’ mean at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque?

 Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, is important for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The legal status of Al-Aqsa is an important flashpoint in the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

The status quo of the site was formulated by Moshe Dayan, a former Israeli defense minister, in 1967. According to Israel’s 1967 status quo, Muslims are only allowed to pray at the Mosque. Non-muslims can visit the site as tourists. Reportedly, the status quo is not supported by any Israeli law. Israeli law does not prohibit Jews from praying at Al-Aqsa. 

In 2015, a four-way agreement between Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and the United States (US) was established to reaffirm the 1967 status quo of the site. However, since 2017, Jews have been allowed to pray in the compound of the Mosque.

According to experts, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security of Israel, is pressuring the Israeli government to change the status quo of the site. Israeli police have started allowing Jews to pray on the Al-Aqsa compound. Palestinians have slammed this move as a way to dismiss Muslims and Islam from Al-Aqsa Mosque. They fear that Israelis can make the compound Jewish.

Recently, 842 Jewish people visited the compound. There were 1,041 visitors during the Passover holiday. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Jewish visits to the site. Jordan termed it a violation of the status quo. 

Israel has repeatedly said that Jews are allowed to visit the site under numerous restrictions and only during limited hours. Israelis said that Palestinians always instigated violence at the holy site.

Israel took the holy Al Aqsa and Jerusalem’s Old City from Jordan in the 1967 War. The 1994 peace treaty recognized Amman’s “special role in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem.” Israel allowed the Jordanian Waqf to maintain religious authority atop the site.