Status quo at Jerusalem's holiest site under threat as Israeli nationalists flout rules

Other reports suggested that large-scale Jewish prayer would be allowed on the site and that all aspects of its governance would be gradually taken over by Israel, which captured Jerusalem" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="3077" data-entity-type="location">East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy places, along with the rest of the West Bank, from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed it in a move that is not recognised by most countries.The Israeli prime minister's office has repeatedly said that there has been no change to the Status Quo.Maarten Lernout/BBCDr Mustafa Abu Sway says changing the Status Quo is "opening a Pandora's box""It will not happen," warns Dr Mustafa Abu Sway, the Deputy Head of the Islamic Waqf Council.On a vantage point in the Old City, he acknowledges that control of al-Aqsa is a sensitive issue in which Israeli protagonists feel empowered. He also fears, with some justification, given the historical context, that any formal change in the Status Quo could easily lead to another explosion of tension between Jews and Muslims."Peace without leaving al-Aqsa Mosque alone, is simply opening a Pandora's box. It is jeopardising the peace in the region, and it pitches everyone against everyone," says Abu Sway, a respected Palestinian expert in Islamic studies and regional history.International alarmJordan, Gulf countries and Egypt have all expressed alarm and concern at the recent erosion of Islamic authority at al-Aqsa. The British government, too, has said that "the historic Status Quo arrangements at Jerusalem's Holy Sites must be respected".