Israel Matzav

Muslim Waqf keeps Canadian PM Harper off Temple Mount

Stockwell Day, Canada's former Minister of Public Safety, and member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's delegation which is currently visiting Israel, personally visited the Temple Mount on Sunday, January 19, where he was greeted by angry Waqf officials and hostile Muslims seeking to prematurely end his visit.

Stockwell Day, wearing a light and dark blue windbreaker, can be seen in the early seconds of the video clip, on the left side of the picture, and again at the conclusion of the video, standing on the steps leading to the area of the Dome of the Rock, where the Holy Temple once stood.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself had planned an official visit to the Temple Mount, but had to cancel the plan in the face of strident Waqf opposition to the presence of Jewish security personal set to accompany the Prime Minister.

Let's go to the videotape. The story of Prime Minister Harper's non-visit follows the video.

Members of Harper's entourage had made a preliminary tour of the Mount Sunday morning. The Waqf's announcement that it would not allow the Jewish bodyguards in was made at the last moment, supposedly because the Waqf did not know earlier that some of the guards were Jewish.

Harper would not enter the Mount without the bodyguards and the visit was cancelled, according to a press statement by B'nai Brith Canada.

...

However, the Huffington Post has a different version of what happened.

"Planning and logistics required on a trip like this can be complicated and unfortunately we weren't able to make it work in a manner that satisfied the security organizations involved," Harper spokesman Jason MacDonald said of the decision to cancel the visit, according to the publication.

"Specifically,” he is cited as saying, “Shin Bet (the Israel Security Agency) would not guarantee that they would not enter the mosque."

While the Huffington Post quote is ambiguous, MacDonald was apparently saying that the Shin Bet refused to promise that if disturbances occur, its men would refrain from entering the Al Aqsa Mosque. It is not clear whether the people demanding this commitment were the Waqf or the Canadians. 

...

Arutz Sheva spoke to sources in the Foreign Ministry who confirmed that the Waqf had cancelled Harper's visit. However, their version was that the Waqf simply refused to allow Canadian security men into the Temple Mount.

Glick, a prominent Temple activist and LIBA project coordinator, told Arutz Sheva Wednesday that he spoke to sources within Harper's entourage who confirmed that the Waqf refused to allow Jewish bodyguards into the Mount.

 You can bet that if Israel gives up 'control' of the Old City, there won't be any Jews allowed in.

Labels: Stephen Harper, Temple Mount, Wakf

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:04 PM