Israel Matzav

The Waqf approves

Shavua tov - a good week to everyone.

JPost reported on Friday that the Waqf - the Muslim religious council that runs the Temple Mount - approves of Israel's arrested Islamic Movement Northern Front leader Sheikh Raed Sallah (pictured) and 'Palestinian Authority' Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdel Qader.

Heads of the Waqf Department have quietly expressed their satisfaction with the Israeli authorities' recent measures against Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, and top Fatah operative Hatem Abdel Qader, a senior official with the Ministry for Internal Security said on Thursday.

...

The official praised the heads of the Waqf Department for their role in "calming the situation" and preventing a further deterioration.

Noting that the Waqf Department, which reports to the Jordanian Government, had refrained from joining the "wild campaign of incitement" against Israel in recent weeks, the official told The Jerusalem Post that the heads of the department were "very pleased" that Salah and Abdel Qader have been banned from entering the Temple Mount.

"The directors of the Waqf Department in Jerusalem did not like the fact that Sheikh Salah and Abdel Qader were meddling in the affairs of the Temple Mount," the official said. "Some of the people at the Waqf even advised us to take certain measures to keep the followers of the two men away from the holy site."

The official would not say whether the Waqf heads were acting on instructions from their superiors in the Jordanian Government.

However, he pointed out that the Jordanian authorities have also expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of Salah and Abdel Qader and their followers on the Temple Mount.

But let Fatah (Qater's movement) run a 'state' and all the world's problems will be solved.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:57 PM