Report: Israel, PA agree Jordanian control of Temple Mount
London-based Palestinian daily quotes Abbas aide as saying, Israel and Palestinians have agreed to transfer control of parts of Old City in Jerusalem to Jordan as part of future peace agreement
Israel and the Palestinians have agreed that the Temple Mount as well as other parts of the Old City in Jerusalem will be under Jordanian control as part of a future peace deal, a Palestinian daily reported on Monday.
The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi reported that President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached the agreement during recent talks in Jerusalem. Under the arrangement, the Old City's Arab residents will be granted Jordanian citizenship.
The newspaper did not say whether Israel would keep control of Jewish holy sites and neighborhoods in the Old City.
The arrangement will make the Jordanian monarchy a guardian of holy Muslim shrines in Jerusalem.
The plan's details and implementation will be supervised by Jordan, Israel, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations, the newspaper said.
The report comes a day after remarks by Vice Premier Haim Ramon that Abbas and Olmert will discuss the status of Jerusalem during the US-sponsored talks in November.
Ramon said it was in Israel's interest to hand over control of Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods to the Palestinian Authority.
A Palestinian official told Ynet it was agreed in principle that the neighborhoods of Shuafat, Wadi Jos, Beit Hanina, Ras el-Amoud and Jabal Mukaber would be transferred to PA control.
He added that progress was also made regarding the excavations at the Temple Mount. The Palestinians have recently claimed that Israel is attempting to build a synagogue under the complex.
The official said that under a future deal Israel would be responsible for security at the Temple Mount while the Palestinians would have sovereignty over the area. In addition, Israel agreed not to conduct any archeological digs at the complex.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied al-Quds al-Arabi's report, saying "no agreement has been reached."
Ali Waked contributed to the report
