MOSQUE PRAYER OUTRAGE

An Israeli judge’s conclusion this week that “quiet” Jewish prayer should be allowed at Jerusalem’s AlAqsa mosque compound has stirred outrage among Palestinians and the Muslim world.

Jews refer to the site as the Temple Mount, referencing two temples said to have stood there in antiquity. Al-aqsa is at the heart of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, falling within Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, but administered by the Waqf Islamic affairs council. The Waqf called the ruling by Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court judge Bilhha Yahalom an illegitimate “provocation,” and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh warned Israel against moves to enforce it.

Even Israeli police have appealed the decision, which followed a petition by Rabbi Aryeh Lippo, who was slapped with a two-week ban from the plaza after praying there.