President Trump today released his his 181-page Israeli- Palestinian peace plan titled Peace To Prosperity. (Full text of plan.) The briefer Fact Sheet released by the White House summarizes the plan’s provisions on Holy Sites in Jerusalem:
Israel will continue to safeguard Jerusalem’s Holy Sites and will guarantee freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of all faiths.
- The status quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif will be preserved.
- The special and historic role of the King of Jordan with regard to the Muslim Holy Shrines in Jerusalem will be preserved.
- All Muslims are welcome to peacefully visit al-Aqsa Mosque.
Unlike many previous powers that had ruled Jerusalem, and had destroyed the holy sites of other faiths, the State of Israel is to be commended for safeguarding the religious sites of all and maintaining a religious status quo.
Given this commendable record for more than half a century, as well as the extreme sensitivity regarding some of Jerusalem’s holy sites, we believe that this practice should remain, and that all of Jerusalem’s holy sites should be subject to the same governance regimes that exist today. In particular the status quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif should continue uninterrupted.
Jerusalem’s holy sites should remain open and available for peaceful worshippers and tourists of all faiths. People of every faith should be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, in a manner that is fully respectful to their religion, taking into account the times of each religion’s prayers and holidays, as well as other religious factors…..
… We believe that returning to a divided Jerusalem, and in particular having two separate security forces in one of the most sensitive areas on earth, would be a grave mistake.
While a physical division of the city must be avoided, a security barrier currently exists that does not follow the municipal boundary and that already separates Arab neighborhoods (i.e., Kafr Aqab, and the eastern part of Shuafat) in Jerusalem from the rest of the neighborhoods in the city.
This physical barrier should remain in place and should serve as a border between the capitals of the two parties.
Jerusalem will remain the sovereign capital of the State of Israel, and it should remain an undivided city. The sovereign capital of the State of Palestine should be in the section of East Jerusalem located in all areas east and north of the existing security barrier, including Kafr Aqab, the eastern part of Shuafat and Abu Dis, and could be named Al Quds or another name as determined by the State of Palestine.