DHAKA: France is drafting a ‘presidential statement’ in order to advance a plan to station international observers at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to ensure that the status quo at the site is preserved.

French daily Le Figaro reported on Saturday, quoting French diplomatic sources, says The Jerusalem Post.

French Ambassador to the UN Francois Delattre said, at an emergency meeting on Friday of the UN Security Council on the ongoing violence between Israel and the Palestinians, that he would circulate a draft statement to the council that would appeal for calm and restraint and for a revival of the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and for maintaining the status quo at the Temple Mount.

Statements by the 15-member council must be agreed unanimously.

The unrest in recent weeks has been triggered in part by Palestinians’ anger over what they claim to be increased Jewish encroachment at the Jerusalem holy site which is revered by both the Muslim and Jewish faithful.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly over the past few weeks that Israel has not changed the status quo on the Temple Mount, nor has it any intention of doing so, characterizing Arab charges to the contrary as ‘lies’ and ‘deceit’.

Jews revere the Temple Mount as its holiest site, the place where two biblical Jewish temples once stood. The area, is also home to the Dome of the Rock, and is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, which is the third holiest site in Islam.

On Friday, Israel’s envoy to the UN Danny Danon said at the security council meeting that Israel will never agree to the stationing of international forces at the site.

** Israel rejects plea for UN police at al-Aqsa compound

BDST: 2112 HRS, OCT 17, 2015
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