Background information
BBC
March 12, 2009
Haaretz
The little that remains on the Temple Mount
For years, the Jerusalem District Police "benefited" from the fact that few Jews visited the Temple Mount, sparing the police this "headache." But now the situation is changing. The halakhic consensus that Jews are forbidden to ascend the mount has been broken. More and more rabbis are permitting Jews to visit, and more and more Jews are seeking to do so.
The police have not come to terms with this new situation. They are confused and are confusing others, and have inverted the natural order of things on the mount, which is both the world's most sensitive site and the Jewish people's holiest site. Not much remains for Jews on the Temple Mount. The Temple is gone. Prayer is forbidden there. The mount's antiquities have been destroyed, and its mosques have become founts of religious and nationalist incitement against the State of Israel.
The little the Israeli government has left to Jews on the mount, the minimum possible, is the right to visit their holiest site without feeling that they are being restricted and despised or doing someone an injustice. This natural right is enshrined in the Law for the Preservation of the Holy Places, which ostensibly permits freedom of access to members of all religions. But now that the halakhic rulings are changing, and theory is turning into practice, some people in the police - unofficially, of course - see this as tantamount to a threat to public safety and are making it as hard as possible for Jews to visit the mount, especially in groups. ...
September 18
BBC
Anger at Jerusalem Shrine Clash
Palestinian leaders have blamed Israel for raising tension in Jerusalem after a day of clashes at the city's most sensitive religious site. Police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse 150 Palestinian protesters who had thrown rocks at non-Muslims who entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is sacred to both religions. Israeli police said the visitors were foreign tourists, but Palestinians said they were Jewish extremists.
"At a time when (the US administration) is trying to bridge the divide... Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," said Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat. "We've seen this before, and we know what the consequences are," he added.
In the past the al-Aqsa/Temple Mount compound has been a flashpoint for Israel-Palestinian violence, notably after the visit of then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon in 2000.
Protests were quelled by Sunday afternoon, with dozens of police patrolling the streets of the walled Old City and blocking some of its gates.
There are conflicting accounts as to who was the initial target of Muslim anger. Palestinian sources said about 15 people from the Temple Mount Guardians group managed to enter the compound and performed acts of worship in contravention of agreements putting the compound under Muslim control. At first, Israeli police confirmed this, but later issued a clarification saying the group was in fact made up of non-Jewish French tourists. Police said Palestinian worshippers had started protesting at immodest clothing worn by the visitors. Other accounts say the tourists were mistaken for members of a large group of religious and right-wing Jews which had gathered at one gate of the compound to press for entry....
October 4
Haaretz
Hundreds of Muslim protesters block Jewish entry to Temple Mount
Hundreds of Muslims gathered Thursday at the foot of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, to prevent Jewish worshippers from entering the Temple Mount for a planned prayer service. The Muslim protesters began arriving Wednesday evening, gathering on the slope leading to the Temple Mount area. The rise, which overlooks the Western Wall, is considered holy to both Jews and Muslims, and houses a sacred site for both religions.
The Islamic Movement had opposed the prayer session, and police said they would allow the Jews to pray on the Mount, but not to engage in any other activities in the area.
Army Radio on Wednesday quoted Jerusalem Police as saying that they would limit the number of Muslim worshippers entering the Temple Mount for prayers on Thursday due to fears of disturbances.
Hundreds of police and Border Police officers were to be deployed to East Jerusalem to prevent violence, and entry to the Temple Mount was to be restricted to women, and men over age 50 holding Israeli ID cards.
Police said they received intelligence warnings about thousands of Palestinians being called to protest at the site. The Islamic Movement's northern branch arranged dozens of buses to take Muslims protesters to the area.
October 5
Haaretz
Who is really to blame for the tensions on the Temple Mount?
Palestinian clashes with Israeli police on Sunday and on the day before Yom Kippur near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City have made foreign diplomats wonder whether Israel is enacting a new policy on the Temple Mount, which is serving to exacerbate tensions.
Media outlets and senior Palestinian Authority officials have contributed significantly to this perception after repeatedly claiming that Israel is planning to allow a group of "extremist settlers" to pray at the mosque. Even the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, has blamed Israel for implementing a dangerous policy on the Temple Mount that is liable to lead to a conflagration.
Yet, reality, as always, is a bit more complicated. The status quo in the plaza surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque has in fact not changed since 2003. The entry of Jews and tourists is permitted on the Temple Mount from 7:30 to 10 A.M., and from 12:30 to 1:30 P.M. These visits do not have to be coordinated with officials of the Waqf (Muslim trust) and take place without any interference. Indeed, last Thursday, for example, the area was totally calm. At 1 P.M., dozens of tourists could be seen wandering around the plaza.
The advent of the holiday season in Israel, combined with the desire of Palestinian politicians to win a few minutes of fame, has recently led, however, to various violent incidents.
At present, the PA is not doing enough to ease tensions, while the Islamic Movement's northern faction is apparently working in concert with a number of Palestinian figures in an effort to spark an escalation of hostilities on the mount.
In the past, revenues generated by the tourist visits there, which reached some $200,000 per month, were transferred to the Waqf, which is run by Jordanian authorities. Since the outbreak of the second intifada, however, there has been no coordination of visits with the Waqf, and in 2003, Israel unilaterally opened the Temple Mount to tourists.
Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, the head of the Waqf, said that just before Yom Kippur, a number of Jewish groups distributed notices announcing that they planned to visit the Temple Mount on the eve of the holiday. In response, the former mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, called on Muslim worshipers to gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque last Sunday, to defend it against the Jews. His call was also taken up by Hatem Abdel Khader, the Fatah official who holds the Jerusalem portfolio, and other factions belonging to the Islamic Movement.
After morning prayers that day, some 200 people gathered at the square waiting for the Jews to enter.
"The police knew about this," Al-Khatib said. "One of the officers who is responsible for police coordination with the Waqf, called me and I warned him not to open the Temple Mount to Jewish worshipers."
At 7:30 A.M., the Mughrabim Gate was opened and a group of tourists entered the compound. Muslims began hurling stones at them and at the police officers who tried to hurry the tourists away from the scene.
Sunday, however, it seemed as if the appropriate conclusions had been drawn: After learning that dozens of Muslims planned to await the arrival of "extremist Jews" at the Temple Mount, the police decided that the entire area would remain closed to non-Muslim visitors.
Palestinians, U.S. Jews spar over 'Judaizing' Jerusalem
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority on Monday urged the world to "force [Israel] to put off its attempts to take over Jerusalem and Judaize it," prompting Orthodox Jews in the United States to vow never to give up their historical right to the ancient city. The Palestinian cabinet, issuing a strong statement after a meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah, condemned what it called a plan by Jews to "perform religious rituals" in the Temple Mount compound which contains the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site.
It also pledged "to confront Israel," as Israeli security forces clashed with Arab protesters for a second day in the Jerusalem area.
In response, the leading body of Orthodox Jews in America condemned the Palestinian Authority and the violence exhibited by Palestinian protesters. "The Palestinians, determined to deny Jewish history and our connection to our eternal capital of Jerusalem, plotted violence as evidenced by stores of rocks and other materials discovered by the Israeli police," Nathan Diament, director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, said in a statement.....
Violence in Jerusalem flared on Sunday after Israel briefly shut gates leading to the compound around al-Aqsa, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, citing concerns for possible violence as hundreds of Jews held holiday prayers at the adjacent Western Wall. The gates were partly reopened once calm was restored after stone-throwing protests by Palestinians in anger at being kept from reaching the holy site. There was no violence in the area on Monday when thousands of Jews worshipped at the Western Wall.
Jerusalem top cop: City's Muslims 'ungrateful'
Jerusalem District Police Chief Aharon Franco said on Monday that the city's Muslim inhabitants were "ungrateful," referring to recent violent clashes between Arab rioters and the police near the Temple Mount. Commenting on recent unrest in the capital, Franco said that "there is a degree of ungratefulness from the side the city's Muslim population after the police had worked to ensure peaceful prayers in the Temple Mount throughout the month of Ramadan." ....
PA waging diplomatic war over Temple Mount
The Palestinian Authority has been waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel for the past two weeks over what it terms "provocations" on the Temple Mount. At a closed briefing for foreign ambassadors last Tuesday, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned that the situation on the mount could quickly deteriorate into a "loss of control" by the PA and asked them to submit official protests to Israel over its "provocations" there, a senior Israeli government official said. That prompted Sweden, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, to ask Jerusalem to work to calm the situation during this week's Jewish holidays.
While the PA has always conducted intensive diplomatic activity with regard to Jerusalem, it has previously focused on issues such as Israeli construction in East Jerusalem or the eviction of Palestinian families from homes in the city's Arab neighborhoods. But following the clashes on the Temple Mount last Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, it began warning the international community about the possibility of a conflagration there.
According to reports that have reached Israel about Fayyad's meeting with the ambassadors, the PA prime minister described last Sunday's clashes as "an assault by extremist religious settlers on the Temple Mount compound" and said it was "a provocation planned in advance that was aimed at sabotaging the peace process and derailing [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama's peace initiative."
Warning that the situation on the mount was flammable and could swiftly deteriorate, he added, "I remind you that this is where the Al-Aqsa Intifada began, after [Ariel] Sharon's visit" to the mount in September 2000. "The Palestinians' popular response stems from the Israeli aggression, and we are liable to lose control over events." He therefore urged the ambassadors to protest to Israel and "demand a change in its behavior" on the mount.
Fayyad's description of last Sunday's events bears no resemblance to Israel's version. According to senior Israeli officials, members of a right-wing Jewish organization did indeed declare their intent to ascend the mount on the morning of September 27, but police prevented them from even entering the Temple Mount compound.
Shortly thereafter, however, a group of French tourists - most of them Christians - came to the mount for a previously arranged tour, and hundreds of Palestinian worshipers, who had apparently been awaiting the right-wing activists, began hurling stones at them. Police responded with tear gas, and in the ensuing clashes, 30 people were wounded - half of them policemen and half Palestinians.
Nevertheless, Fayyad's plea drew a swift response from the United States and many EU countries, all of which demanded explanations of last Sunday's events from Israeli officials. The United States was satisfied by Israel's explanation and dropped the matter. However, several European countries - headed by Sweden, whose relationship with Israel has also been deteriorating - sent worried messages demanding that Israel work to calm the situation.
The tensions reached a peak last Tuesday, when the Palestinians told several foreign embassies that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended to accompany right-wing activists to the East Jerusalem village of Silwan to dedicate a new tunnel. In fact, Netanyahu was merely planning to treat his senior aides to dinner at a nearby restaurant - an event that was ultimately canceled due to a heavy work load. Nevertheless, both American officials in Washington and the U.S. Embassy in Israel contacted the Prime Minister's Office to demand explanations for the alleged tunnel dedication, while senior officials in Sweden's Foreign Ministry demanded similar explanations of Israel's ambassador in Stockholm.
Police are now preparing for a possible new round of clashes today, when tens of thousands of Jewish worshipers are expected to come to the Western Wall to hear the traditional priestly blessing. There were several violent incidents in the Old City Sunday, after the Islamic Movement urged Arab demonstrators to come to the Temple Mount to "defend Al-Aqsa [Mosque]." In one incident, at about 10 A.M., Arabs from northern Israel and East Jerusalem began throwing stones and bottles at police on Motta Gur St., near the Old City's Lions Gate. Two policemen were lightly wounded and five demonstrators were arrested. Yesterday afternoon, Arabs threw stones and Molotov cocktails at a Border Police roadblock near the Shuafat refugee camp. The incident produced no casualties....
October 6
Haaretz
Israel police arrests Islamic Movement leader over incitement charges
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Tuesday ordered the release of one of the leaders of the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement, but restricted him from entering Jerusalem for 30 days. Ra'ad Salah, the leader of the movement's northern chapter, was arrested earlier Tuesday on suspicion that he had incited to violence and incited riots, in light of remarks he had made recently.
The arrest came against the backdrop of heightened tension in Jerusalem's Old City and particularly at the holy site of Temple Mount, where Palestinians clashed with Israeli police officers over the course of several days.
On Monday, Salah told Haaretz that the clashes would last as long as Israel's "occupation" of the city and Al-Aqsa Mosque continued. He said the Israeli government must understand that using force does not grant it rights to Al-Aqsa Mosque or anywhere else in East Jerusalem, and that the key to achieving calm in the area is an Israeli "withdrawal." "No one has rights to the Al-Aqsa Mosque other than the Muslims. The mosque compound is Muslim, Palestinian and Arab, and Israel has no rights to the mosque or East Jerusalem," he said.
Salah has been prohibited from entering the Temple Mount area for several months, and has been staying at a nearby residence while following developments. The Islamic Movement leader reiterated his call for Arabs within Israel's Green Line and in Jerusalem to protest beside the mount to "protect Al-Aqsa from the infiltration of extremist Jewish elements."
Islamic leader tells Haaretz: Temple Mount clashes won't end until occupation of Jerusalem does
An Israel Defense Forces soldier and a Border Police officer were lightly injured on Monday on the second day of clashes between police and Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem. The soldier, a Military Police officer, was stabbed in the neck and lightly wounded near the Shuafat checkpoint. The perpetrator, a 16-year-old from the nearby village of Anata, was held for questioning. The Border Police officer was injured by stones hurled by rioters near Shuafat refugee camp, where seven demonstrators were detained.
Approximately 50 protesters have been detained since the clashes began Sunday. Despite the heightened tension in the city, tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the Old City's Western Wall Plaza to participate in the recitation of the traditional priestly blessing performed on Sukkot and other major holidays. The ceremony proceeded without incident, but earlier in the day Palestinians hurled stones at ultra-Orthodox visitors to the Mount of Olives.
Police also dispersed around 150 Palestinians who had blocked the road next to the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem, refusing to budge. Jerusalem District police discovered a number of wheelbarrows next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque filled with stones and cinder blocks, which officers said protesters had planned to hurl at both security forces and Jewish worshippers praying at the Western Wall.
Palestinian official: Israel deliberately sparking fire in Jerusalem
A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating "an extremely dangerous situation" in East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city. "Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation," chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy.
Palestinian leaders have issued a series of warnings in the past week after clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City between Israeli police and protesters, over alleged attempts by Jewish religious activists to enter the site.
Meanwhile Tuesday, the clashes resumed toward the evening as dozens of young Palestinians hurled rocks at police officers in Jerusalem's Old City. The demonstrators also set wood platforms on fire in efforts to block the streets. Police dispersed the stone throwers and traffic was restored.
The official rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, appealed to the heads of the three religions in the Old City to "find a way to restore sanity to the holy city, so that everyone can visit holy places without running into hostility and fear."
Ynet (Yediot Aharonot)
Clerics urge Jerusalem's Muslims to 'protect al-Aqsa'
The Jerusalem Police declared a high state of alert on Monday night ahead of Tuesday's traditional march through the capital's streets, in the wake of the riots plaguing the Old City. Monday night saw the muezzins of Jerusalem's mosques urge the city's Muslims to rally to the defense of al-Aqsa Mosque, for fear "Jews will try to break into it." Muslims were called to "thwart" any attempt by Jewish groups to enter the compound....
The Sukkot march began Tuesday morning at the capital's Ammunition Hill, and was expected to pass through the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. At 2 pm marchers were scheduled to arrive at Sacher Park, and then walk with a wider public along the Bezalel, Ben Yehuda, King George and Agron Street in the city center. Hundreds of officers were deployed in the area in order to secure the march.
October 7
Jerusalem Post
'Israel trying to change status quo':
In the wake of the recent clashes between Arabs and security forces in Jerusalem and the restricted access to the Temple Mount, Balad leader Dr. Jamal Zahalka said Wednesday that Israel was "trying to change the status quo in the capital by creating new facts on the ground."
Speaking to Army Radio, Zahalka asserted that recent conspiracy theories may not be unfounded, speculating that Israel was possibly "planning to build a synagogue" on the Temple Mount. He explained that while Al Aksa Mosque had stood on the Temple Mount for 1,400 years, Israeli excavations underneath it could endanger several Old City mosques "in the event of an earthquake."
Haaretz
Under tight security, cornerstone laid in Jewish quarter of East Jerusalem
Security was tight on Wednesday as a corner stone was laid for a Jewish residential building in the East Jerusalem, not far from the Arab neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.
Organizers of the ceremony in Nof Zion feared it would spark an outbreak of further violence, in light of the recent tensions at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. "We weren't going to cancel a serious ceremony regarding the construction of another Jewish residency in East Jerusalem just because a few Hooligans make some noise," organizer Avichai Buaran told Army Radio. "Nof Zion is in the Arab town of Jabel Mukaber, but it remains a Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem," he added.
Israel fears violence following arrest of Islamic Movement head
Security forces fear an outbreak of further violence following the arrest of the leader of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah on Tuesday. Salah was arrested, and later released, after Police Commissioner David Cohen, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador and Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco decided that Salah would be interrogated about recent statements.
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ordered Salah released four hours after his arrest. Judge Shimon Fineberg accepted the police's argument that Salah's statements could endanger the peace in Jerusalem, but he said it would be enough to keep him out of the city. Salah was ordered to stay out of Jerusalem for 30 days. Cohen, Lador and Franco said Salah's recent remarks "ostensibly involved a series of statements of incitement and sedition." Earlier this week, Salah called for Muslims to come to the Temple Mount to protest and prevent right-wing Jewish groups from entering the site.
Ynet (Yediot Aharonot)
Salah's affiliates want him to tone down speeches
Senior members of the Islamic Movement criticized the head of the movement's northern branch, Sheikh Raed Salah, for recent outbursts that got him arrested and subsequently banned from entering Jerusalem for 30 days." The battle-cries by Sheikh Salah represent us in essence, but can be said differently, in a calmer tone," said one of the movement's founders, Sheikh Hashem Abed al-Rahman. Another senior member of the movement said Salah had been called upon Tuesday by other leaders to relinquish his fight in Jerusalem and return home. "We understood that it was harming the movement in an irreparable manner," he said.
The masses did not pour into Sheikh Raed Salah’s improvised tent, which was established on the roof of a residential duplex in the Wadi Joz neighborhood Tuesday. The man who only last week managed to excite tens of thousands of people on his home court in Umm al-Fahm, saw a rather thin inflow of interested parties throughout the day.
The bunch of sycophants who surrounded the Sheikh saved the day, and of course a reinforced presence of the sector that interests Salah more than any other: The media.
Two visits interfered with the routine. The first one featured several clowns from the Neturei Karta sect. They carried small anti-Zionist signs and wooed Salah with messages against the occupation. The youngest visitor in the group decided to speak up, presented himself as Ashraf Abu-Something, and broke into an endless anti-Zionist speech in fluent Arabic. When he finally finished he wiped off his glasses and asked to repeat the speech in English. Even the sheikh appeared horrified for a moment.
Higher Arab Monitoring Committee visits al-Aqsa Mosque
Members of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee visited the Temple Mount compound Wednesday, in the wake of growing tension surrounding the al-Aqsa Mosque.The Arab officials claimed Israel was, indeed, excavating under the compound. Sheikh Kamal Rayan, head of the Islamic al-Aqsa Association told Ynet that the committee "wants to know exactly where the excavations are being conducted and why they are being kept a secret. The visit was coordinated with the capital's police.
"The Jews are laying groundwork and building synagogues around the mosque and we are kept in the dark. We are kept from entering al-Aqsa," he added, "Kept from observing our faith and customs. It seems as if the Arabs' (access to the compound) is restricted every Jewish holiday. This is provocation. We are against violence and this is a law-abiding state, but you have to allow Muslim freedom of religion, not issue collective punishment. It's a fundamental right. "....
Knesset member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) commented on Jerusalem District Police Commander Aharon Franco's statements that Arab-Israelis are ungrateful: "That's nonsense. We don't need any favors, he should shut up and allow all Muslims to enter and pray. It's a condescending and arrogant thought." Referring to the recent protest he said, "There's an accumulation of circumstances which led to rage, including the Judaisation of Jerusalem, eviction of Arabs from their homes, house demolition, inequality in building permits and refusal to negotiate on Jerusalem. All this led to rage and anger being expressed based on the plans to change the status quo in the mosque."....
The MK added that the ground breaking ceremony Wednesday near Jabal Mukaber is one of the instigators for the riots around Jerusalem.
October 8
Gershom Gorenberg, The American Prospect
Once again, trouble is smoldering around the Temple Mount, threatening to ignite a new round of violence between Palestinians and Israelis. For a week and a half, there have been sporadic clashes at the Haram and elsewhere in East Jerusalem. There's reasonable fear of a more serious blow-up during Friday prayers - at Al-Aqsa, or wherever Israeli police block worshippers trying to reach the mosque. The proximate cause of the tension is jockeying by extreme Palestinian and Jewish groups that fuse nationalism with religion. But when a fire begins at the Mount, it is always fueled by wider issues. Right now those issues include continued Palestinian disappointment with American diplomacy and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas's precipitous loss of public credibility.
The Mount's role as sacred blasting cap is an old story. In the 1920s, Palestinian leader Hajj Amin al-Husseini turned Al-Aqsa - the third holiest spot in Islam -- into an emblem of Palestinian nationalism. Al-Husseini renovated the Haram with funds raised internationally; he also accused the Zionists of plotting to destroy the Islamic shrines in order to rebuild the Temple.. In 1929, after right-wing Jews demonstrated at the Western Wall to assert Jewish rights at the traditional Jewish place of prayer on the outer edge of the Mount, Arab rioters attacked Jews throughout Palestine. It was the first country-wide outbreak of violence between the two. It was also a brutal psychodrama: Consciously or not, the fears and accusations over holy space stood for fears about the future of the country as a whole.
The pattern has repeated itself since the Israeli conquest of the Old City in 1967, despite the Israeli policy of consigning worship to separate areas. Non-Muslims are usually permitted to visit the Haram as tourists, but not as worshippers. Instead, Jewish prayer takes place at the Western Wall. Nonetheless, Al-Aqsa under Israeli rule has become Palestinians' most powerful symbol of occupation. Among Palestinian citizens of Israel, the radical wing of the Islamic Movement has built support with the slogan "Al-Aqsa Is In Danger."
For most Israelis, the extreme rightwing Jewish groups that want to build the Third Temple on the Mount are somewhere between insignificant and invisible, too strange to be worthy of notice. For Palestinians, the same groups are a looming threat to the Islamic shrines. In 1990, an announcement by the tiny Temple Mount Faithful group that it would lay a cornerstone for the Third Temple led to a Muslim riot at the Haram. An unprepared, outnumbered Israeli police contingent used live fire, killing a score of Palestinians.
On the other hand, as the site of the First and Second Temples in ancient times, the Mount is the holiest spot in Judaism - and a very tangible symbol of Jews' historical connection to their homeland. Right-wing politicians have exploited that symbolism with disastrous consequences. In 1996, in his first term as prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu opened a tunnel along the side of the Mount, setting off a week of pitched battles. Then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon's demonstrative visit to the Mount in 2000 was the spark for the Second Intifada.
Haaretz
Jordan's king to Haaretz: Without two states, there is no future
Jordan's King Abdullah II has asked Haaretz to relay a message to the Israeli public that it disavow the illusion that the status quo can be perpetuated, because as a result of the diplomatic impasse, "We are sliding back into the darkness. "Is Israel going to be fortress Israel or is it going to be part of the neighborhood? Because if there is no two-state solution, what future do we all have together?" he asked in an exclusive interview on Tuesday at his palace in Amman at the height of the disturbances in East Jerusalem.
"Show me the future of Israel 10 years from now. Where do you want Israel to be vis-a-vis its relationship with Jordan and other Arab countries? I understand that you tend to live in the here and now. You are worried about the next threat. It is difficult for an Israeli to look into the future because of the security aspect. But if there is peace and stability, then people can look into the future." ....
Jerusalem is "a tinderbox that will have a major flashpoint throughout the Islamic world," he added.
The king said he had raised the sanctity and sensitivity of Jerusalem with every Israeli prime minister, including Benjamin Netanyahu. He said that it "is important to understand the need of ending all settlement activities and other unilateral actions that threaten the identity of the holy city."
Hamas declares 'day of rage' for Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas declared Friday a "day of rage" and called on its supporters to come out and demonstrate at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Temple Mount. The call came Thursday, following days of tension at the Temple Mount compound as Palestinian protesters sporadically clashed with Israeli police patrolling the holy site.
Leading religious figures in the Muslim world, such as Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi, dubbed Friday "protect Al-Aqsa day." Joining the call to "protect" the mosque were Palestinian politicians and religious figures, who have been trying to convince the lethargic public in Gaza to come out and demonstrate.
Israel's Islamic Movement also joined the calls, urging Muslims within Israel to attend Friday's prayer at Al-Aqsa. The movement explained that they do not intend to confront anyone, but that prayer at the mosque is a basic right which they have no intention of relinquishing.
ANALYSIS / Third intifada inconceivable, despite Jerusalem tensions
Nine years and 10 days after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada, tensions gripping the Temple Mount could once again lead to the eruption of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis.
Yet a third intifada would seem inconceivable now, for several reasons - West Bank Palestinians are tired, their economy has been improving, and the Palestinian Authority itself has no stomach for a worsening situation.
Still, it's hard to tell where Friday's demonstrations in the territories will lead. Perhaps the Temple Mount events will be limited due to the age restriction Israel has imposed on the worshippers. But disturbances are expected in areas near Jerusalem such as the Anata and Qalandiyah refugee camps, and Ras al-Amud. Defense officials hope that demonstrators won't be killed or seriously injured, as this could cause any riots to spread.
Perhaps Israel's assumption that the Palestinians are not interested in setting the West Bank on fire is accurate, but one soldier firing at stone throwers or one demonstrator shooting at Israeli soldiers could turn the picture upside down.
Ynet (Yediot Aharonot)
Rabbi Elyashiv: Don't go to Temple Mount
Head of Lithuanian haredi stream tells President Peres, 'According to halacha Jews forbidden from going to Temple Mount…beyond halachic aspect, it could lead to bloodshed' Peres says in response, 'Your position must be heard'
At the start of the meeting, Peres said, "I am here to greet you on the holiday of Sukkot. Israel faces many challenges, and one of them is preventing the deterioration of the tension in Jerusalem to the point of a religious war. In all matters related to the Temple Mount, the inciters can set the whole thing on fire"
In response, Rabbi Elyashiv told the president that according to halacha, Jews are forbidden from going to the Temple Mount – both because of its sanctity and because of the political repercussions their presence may have. "I have declared this in the past, and I repeat once again my statement," the rabbi said, "Beyond the halachic aspect, it is also a kind of provocation of the world's nations that could lead to bloodshed, and this would be one sin leading to another."
Jerusalem Post
Old City cops, J'lem Arabs brace for Friday prayers at Al Aksa
It seemed as though the calm before a storm had descended on the capital's Muslim Quarter on Thursday afternoon, as shopkeepers peered wearily at passing police patrols while hawking their wares to tourists, and the streets and alleyways grew eerily quiet by dusk.
While Thursday passed without any of the violence that had flared-up daily this week in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods bordering the Old City, both police and young Muslim men said they were readying themselves for Friday's noontime prayer at al-Aksa Mosque - which traditionally draw the largest crowds of the week - and focusing on it as the next likely flash-point. "We're going to throw everything we can find," said one young Arab man in the Old City who was reluctant to give his name. "Rocks, stones, whatever we can find. I'm telling you, dirbalak [watch out], be careful if you come around here tomorrow, because if they see a Jew, it could be dangerous." Asked why tensions had boiled so high in recent days, the young man said the answer was simple - the rumors that have been flying around al-Aksa Mosque, predicting anything from an impending Israeli invasion to plans by "extremist Jewish elements" to begin building a synagogue nearby. "The Jews have the Kotel and we have al-Aksa, and that's the way it should stay," the young man said. "Why do the Jews insist on coming up there? We don't try to go to the Kotel." But others brushed off the current tensions as "just another plan by governments to stir the people up," as one Old City shopkeeper, Fathy, told The Jerusalem Post. He did concur, however, that Friday prayers would not go by quietly."Tomorrow there will probably some violence," he said, as he sat outside his shop on al-Wad Road, which winds along a number of entrances to the Temple Mount before hitting a security checkpoint leading to the Kotel. "But the trouble won't be here," Fathy said, pointing to one of the alleyways that lead to al-Aksa. "Tomorrow this will be a city full of police and empty of prayers. Police will have the whole area closed off, and if there are 3,000 worshipers, there will be 15,000 police officers. The trouble will start outside [the Old City], in Wadi Joz, in Ras al-Amud, because that's where the young people are, and that's where the anger is." Fathy dismissed the idea that the current unrest would lead to a larger uprising, or third intifada, as some Fatah officials and Palestinian clerics have said. "And the Fatah men who say so are just trying to stir the people up, to make them forget about Goldstone," he added, referring to the Palestinian Authority's recent decision to delay a UN Human Rights Council discussion of the report, which labeled the IDF guilty of war crimes during the Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in January. "The Palestinian people don't even consider the Jews our enemy anymore," Fathy said. "Our enemies are Mahmoud Abbas and his cronies."
Also on Thursday, UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry visited the Temple Mount, at the behest of the Wakf Islamic trust, and issued a statement calling on all sides to take steps toward calming the situation. "Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been very concerned at the recent clashes in Jerusalem, and I have been in contact with all sides in an effort to defuse tensions," Serry's statement read. "This holy city is important to both Israelis and Palestinians, and to people of three great faiths. Incitement from any quarter regarding holy sites, as well as provocative actions in east Jerusalem, do not serve the sanctity of the city or the cause of peace, and must stop."
October 14, 2009
Foreign Policy
Photo Essay: A Third Intifada?
Contention over the disputed Al-Aqsa mosque and Temple Mount site have once again unleashed violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Could a third intifada erupt?
Forward
In recent weeks, Palestinian religious and political leaders have brought tensions over Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to a boil. During Sukkot, Jerusalem’s muezzins called on Palestinians to rally around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, reportedly warning that “Jews will try to break into it.” A little more than a week earlier, Palestinian worshipers at the site hurled rocks at French tourists, mistaking them for Jews attempting to pray on the Mount.
Palestinian charges that Israel is plotting against the mosques on the Mount are, of course, false. The irony is that Palestinian leaders have themselves been engaged in a very real effort — both rhetorical and physical — to undermine the Jewish history of the Mount.
This summer, the Palestinian Authority’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, told The Jerusalem Post that there was no evidence that a Jewish Temple had ever existed in Jerusalem. Nor is he the only Palestinian cleric who feels this way. Two years earlier, Jerusalem’s former mufti, Ikrema Sabri, had insisted that “there was never a Jewish temple on Al-Aqsa” and said of the Western Wall: “There is not a single stone with any relation at all to the history of the Hebrews.”
Much as Holocaust denial gained traction in Tehran, Temple denial has become a central tenet of Palestinian nationalism.
The denial of the existence of a First or Second Temple on the Mount, however, is a relatively new phenomenon. Indeed, early Muslim leaders eagerly acknowledged that the Temple Mount was the location of Solomon’s Temple.