A temporary solution appears on the horizon in the dispute over the Golden Gate, or Bab al-Rahma, prayer yard in Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound.
There have recently been scuffles between worshippers and Israeli police there over the use the Bab al-Rahma closed by Israel since 2003.
The latest dispute erupted over the renovation of the Bab al-Rahma. Israel had ordered the closure of the area to carry out renovations, sparking an objection from Jordan, which oversees holy sites in Jerusalem.
It instead said that it should be entitled with renovating Bab al-Rahma with the supervision of the Religious Endowments Authority, or Awqaf, which will in turn bar entry to the site for the duration of the renovation.
Jordanian and Israeli officials held a meeting Wednesday to address the dispute that ended with disagreement with Amman insisting on its right to carry out the renovations.
Senior officials soon intervened to avert an escalation. Talks ended with the agreement for Jordan to hold the renovations and the Awqaf to close the site until they are complete.
A senior Jordanian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Israel will allow the Awqaf to bring in the necessary building material for the renovations.
The date for the renovation has not been set yet, but it is said to be soon.
He added that Jordan and Israel are in agreement over the need to renovate Bab al-Rahma, saying that worshippers will not be allowed to enter the area when the process begins.
Access to Bab al-Rahma was closed by an Israeli court order in 2003 during the second Palestinian intifada over alleged militant activity there, police say.
The compound is the third-holiest site in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
It is in the walled Old City in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community.
