by Daoud Kuttab

“The sudden flurry of visits also came after the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, publicly called on all who can to visit Jerusalem as a statement of solidarity. Abbas said what Faisal Husseini said in this regard, namely that visiting a prisoner doesn’t equate recognition of his jailers….Jerusalemite Palestinians and the general Palestinian and Jordanian public are curious about the reason behind this sudden interest and wish they could be included in the discussion, rather than learn about them in the media.”

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A flurry of visits by Arab and Islamic officials to East Jerusalem in the past few weeks has left Palestinians wondering what is happening.

Prince Hashem visited Jerusalem followed by a joint visit of Prince Ghazi and Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa. The head of Jordan’s security service, Hussein Majali, was the last to visit. His visit was followed by statements from Palestinian Islamic waqf officials and the Israeli media that an important leader would be visiting soon.

All visits included a tour of Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest place of worship. Read more