Palestinians walk next to the entrance of the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City - Reuters
LONDON - 25 July 2017: Israel has removed metal detectors and security cameras from the entrance of Al Aqsa Mouse, hours after Israel and Jordan reached a deal to defuse tensions following a clash at the Israeli embassy at the weekend that left two Jordanians dead, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
The move came after a late-night cabinet meeting during which Israeli security agencies recommended that the metal detectors be replaced with "smart checks" to protect the compound that is home to al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the Israeli prime minister's office said.
The new security measures are reported to include facial recognition cameras, the paper said.
Israeli measures to install the detectors at entry points to al Aqsa mosque earlier this month sparked the worst clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in years.
The crisis spread to neighbouring Jordan — custodian of the shrine in Jersualem's old city — after an Israeli security guard killed two Jordanians, the report said.
Jordan had demanded that Israel hand the guard over to police for questioning, and barred him from leaving the country. Israel insisted he had diplomatic immunity.
After a flurry of diplomatic activity, the guard and embassy staff returned to Israel on Monday night. Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with King Abdullah and later thanked US President Donald Trump for dispatching his Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, to help ease the crisis.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu and King Abdullah reached a deal under which Israel agreed to remove the metal detectors from the Jerusalem shrine and Amman would let the security guard leave the country, the paper said.
The Israeli prime minister's office would not comment on the reports, but the cabinet decision to remove the metal detectors was announced just after the Israeli diplomats returned from Jordan.
Israeli culture minister and a member of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party Miri Regev called the cabinet's decision "regrettable"
Adnan al Husseini, a Palestinian Authority official in charge of Jerusalem affairs, said the placement of more sophisticated security measures at the entrance to the site would be "more dangerous than metal detectors".
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