President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on the Israeli people and Israeli leadership on Monday to respect Muslim’s feelings towards their holy places, and not adopt measures which irritate Muslims in Palestine and the Muslim nation.
In his first comment on the issue, Al-Sisi added during his attendance at the Fourth National Youth Conference in Alexandria, that Egypt would not use this incident in the Al-Aqsa Mosque for political benefits, but it aims to send a clear message that all parties should work on boosting cohesion in the region.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government announced on Tuesday morning its decision to remove metal detectors gates which had placed at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and replace them with more advanced surveillance cameras.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the small cabinet voted for removing the metal detector gates after a meeting lasted for several hours on Monday.
Tensions have escalated since Israel imposed additional security measures at the Muslim-administered Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the measures which were rejected by Palestinians who held demonstrations against these measures.
Earlier on Monday, the UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said that a solution was needed by Friday to the Al-Aqsa crisis, which threatens to have “potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City.”
The UN Security Council held Monday an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis.
“It is extremely important that a solution to the current crisis be found by Friday,” Nickolay Mladenov told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors.
“The dangers on the ground will escalate if we go through another cycle of Friday prayer without a resolution to this current crisis.” Mladenov added.
