UN warns of escalation if no Jerusalem mosque solution by Friday

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov warned on Monday that a solution was needed by Friday to the Jerusalem mosque crisis, which threatens to have “potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City.”

“It is extremely important that a solution to the current crisis be found by Friday,” he 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.”

Tensions have escalated since Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after two police guards were shot dead by gunmen there on July 14.

Read More: Israel refuses to remove metal detectors from Jerusalem mosque

AFP adds: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet in Istanbul next week for talks on the crisis around Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, after a weekend of violence which left eight people dead.

The 57-member pan-Islamic organisation will hold a ministerial meeting on Tuesday in Turkey, which currently holds the OIC presidency, a statement said on Monday.

Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at entrances to the highly sensitive east Jerusalem site, which includes Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of Rock, following an attack on July 14 that left two policemen dead.