Jordan: No cameras inside mosques at Jerusalem holy site

AMMAN, Jordan -- The interiors of two mosques at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site will be exempt from monitoring by security cameras, Jordan's king said in an apparent attempt to allay Palestinian concerns about his plan to install the cameras at the sprawling hilltop compound.

The 37-acre site has been at the heart of the current round of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Jordan, the custodian of the site, last month proposed camera monitoring in efforts to defuse tensions. Israel welcomed the plan. but the idea was met by Palestinian criticism.

Although Israel and Jordan initially said cameras would be installed within days, the plan now appears delayed, with Jordan's King Abdullah II saying they wouldn't be in place for some six weeks.

"To be very clear, there will be no cameras inside the mosque," Abdullah said in remarks broadcast on Jordan's state TV Wednesday evening.

The fate of the walled compound in Jerusalem -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary -- is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to biblical Jewish temples. Muslims believe it is the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the third-holiest site in Islam and houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and gold-topped Dome of the Rock.

Israeli police and Palestinian protesters often clash there.

The current wave of violence erupted in mid-September, fueled by rumors Israel was trying to increase Jewish presence there. Under a decades-old arrangement, non-Muslims can visit the site but are not allowed to pray there.

Israel has vehemently denied the allegations, but Palestinians point to an increase in visits by extremist Jews backed by hard-line Israeli legislators.

The plan to introduce cameras at the site was suggested by Jordan and announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a diplomatic push last month to quell the violence.