2009, October: Clashes over Temple Mount

Stone-throwing Arab youths wounded three policemen on the Temple Mount on Sunday as Jerusalem police, firing water cannons and stun grenades, raided the holy site in a bid to quell repeated bouts of rioting. Police stormed the compound twice; the first time was in response to Arab youths who pelted officers with rocks and poured oil on them. Later Sunday morning, about 100 Arab youths renewed rioting at the Temple Mount, after which Border Police and regular policemen raided the site again, using stun grenades to disperse the rioters. Police were attempting to completely clear the compound of worshippers. Officers arrested a total of 15 people during the disturbances. During the clash, police arrested Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Jerusalem affairs, Hatam Abd al-Qadir, on suspicion of disorderly conduct. Police said he attacked officers and urged worshippers to hold a protest march. Ali Abu Sheikha, a senior official from the northern faction of the Islamic movement was also arrested during the clashes. Police said Abu Sheikha was at the Temple Mount disrupting the peace and inciting the youths. Early Sunday morning, police were patrolling near the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem, when the youths began to hurl stones at them. Officers subsequently stormed the compound and arrested 12 people on suspicion of disorderly conduct. A large wall of riot police, holding glass shields, closed in on the crowd, sending many of the rioters running into the mosque for cover. Arab youths hurled a firebomb at police during clashes at the site, but no one was wounded. A Jerusalem police spokesman, Shmuel Ben-Ruby said police did not enter the Al-Aqsa mosque atop the compound. The violence came after Jerusalem police announced Saturday that they would beef up their forces on Sunday around the Temple Mount, after Muslim leaders urged Arabs to defend Jerusalem against "Jewish conquest." There have been repeated rumors among Palestinians that Jewish extremists are planning on harming the holy site. No such attempt has been made. Earlier in the month, Police clashed sporadically with Muslim protesters in and around the compound. No one was seriously wounded, but in the past deadly violence has erupted at the site.

Arab MK: Israel provoking a billion Muslims over Temple Mount

An Israeli Arab lawmaker warned on Sunday that Israel was "provoking" the Muslim world by cracking down on Arab rioters on the Temple Mount in Jeruslaem. "Israel is provoking a billion Muslims around the world, who will not hesitate to protect the Temple Mount with their own bodies," said MK Talab Al-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al). Earlier Sunday, stone-throwing Arab youths wounded three policemen on Sunday, after Jerusalem police raided the holy site in a bid to quell repeated bouts of rioting.

Al-Sana said: "Israeli police initiate avoidable riots that will end in blood shed, when they enable extremists to desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque." He was referring to repeated rumors among Palestinians that Jewish extremists are planning on harming the holy site. No such attempts have been made.

The lawmaker warned that the situation could deteriorate to a complete loss of control and that the government is entirely responsible for any possible outcome. "The Al-Aqsa mosque is under Israeli jurisdiction, and it is therefore the job of Israeli police to protect one of the holiest sites in the Muslim faith," he added.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner David Cohen arrived at the scene to witness the riots. He said the leaders responsible for the incitement were on location, provoking the rioters. "There are large groups of East Jerusalem Arabs there who are being encouraged by the Islamic Movement leaders," said the commissioner. "The police will forcefully clamp down on those responsible for disrupting the peace at the Temple Mount." Cohen added that Israel's policy is to keep the Temple Mount open to both Jewish and Muslim visitors "today and on every other day."

Hamas: War will settle Jerusalem dispute, not talks

Following a conflagration of violence at Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal declared that "Jerusalem's fate will be decided with jihad (holy war) and resistance, and not negotiations."

Clashes between Israeli police and youths armed with rocks broke out Sunday at the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount compound, home of the Muslim holy site, the al Aqsa mosque. The confrontation was apparently sparked by radical Jewish clerics' call to their followers to go up to the compound, and by calls by radical Muslim clerics for their followers to defend the site.

Meshal, in Damascus, voiced hope that Israel's Arabs and the residents of the West Bank would join the residents of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, in staging demonstrations in protest of the Jerusalem events, Israel Radio reported.

Meanwhile, Jordan warned the Israel Police and religious Jewish radicals on Sunday that further provocation at the compound would "fuel violence in the region and jeopardize peace efforts."

"Any new provocative attempts by Israeli troops and Jewish extremists such as what happened today in the shrine's compound represents a flagrant violation of international law and conventions and sets the stage for more tension and acts of violence," Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communication Nabil Sharif said in a statement. "Jordan, out of its historical responsibilities in being the custodian of the holy places in Jerusalem, is extremely worried about what is taking place and warns against going ahead with this provocative behavior on the part of Israeli troops," he added. Sharif urged "an immediate end to such dangerous practices which threaten to derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region".

Ynet

Jews urged to visit Temple Mount despite prohibitions

Muslims rioted against Jews visiting the Temple Mount and a halachic ruling issued by the senior-most haredi rabbi forbade Jews to visit the holy site. However, Orthodox organizations are not throwing in the towel. On Sunday night, a rare showing of unity will take place in Jerusalem between rabbis and public figures who are planning on declaring their connection to the Temple's site.

Members of the "Temple Mount coalition" include: MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) alongside MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima), and Yesha Rabbinical Council Chairman Rabbi Dov Lior alongside Rabbi Yuval Sherlo.

An announcement published ahead of the event by the Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount and the joint headquarters for the Temple Mount organizations outlined the meeting's objective. "We will call the nation of Israel to go up to the Temple Mount in holiness and purity; We will demand that Israel Police also respect the right of the Jews to the Temple Mount; We will protest harm done to the honor of the rabbis in security checks performed before entering the Temple Mount; We will call upon the Muslim leadership to condemn the use of houses of worship for incitement and violence."

Senior rabbis from all the denominations in recent generations have forbidden going to the Temple Mount even for those who purified themselves first in a mikveh (Jewish ritual bath), mainly claiming that it is impossible to know for certain the precise location of the area of the Temple that was forbidden to enter even after a mikveh.

In recent years, researchers have sketched out the exact location of the forbidden area, and many rabbis have ruled that it is permissible to enter other sections of the Temple Mount. However, the senior-most rabbis and halachic adjudicators – Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, and Rabbi Avraham Shapira – have stuck to their ruling that it is forbidden, which is also the position of Israel's Chief Rabbinate.

'How can one oppose it?'

Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, who will be participating in Sunday's conference, listed a number of well-known halachic adjudicators who allow, and even obligate, entry into the Temple Mount. "This is a weighty halachic issue," said Rabbi Sherlo to Ynet, "and I don't understand how you be opposed to it."

According to him, today, 42 years after the reunification of Jerusalem, one can see "the spiritual price of this prohibition" which he defines as "an ingrained awareness that we are interested in the Western Wall and the Arabs in the Temple Mount. The rabbis are increasingly those responsible for this, who, paradoxically, have distanced the people of Israel from being conscience of the Temple." He claimed that this absurdity could be seen already when Jerusalem was unified when "the paratroopers ran through the Temple Mount to the Western Wall complex."

Rabbi Sherlo demands "equality at the least" between Jews and Arabs visiting the Temple Mount and claims that visiting the site today is "a humiliating act" mainly because of the prohibition of Jewish prayer on the Mount that is enforced by the Waqf. Rabbi Sherlo expressed his deep disappointment with the rights groups who have kept quiet on this issue of freedom of religion and worship.

"The same people who claimed that it is forbidden to stop the gay pride parade from taking place so as not to give in to violence are not fighting here for the rights of Jews to pray," claimed Rabbi Sherlo. "In moral principles, one must be consistent and systematic. There is nothing more damaging to them that hypocrisy and manipulations that are used only when it is convenient."

'Damaging mistake'

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner is opposed to allowing Jews onto the Temple Mount. "There are definitely honorable and good things about those enthusiastic about the Temple Mount. However, the very essence of this phenomenon is, in my opinion, an utterly damaging mistake."

In an article published Sunday morning, Rabbi Aviner called for followers to make do with learning about the subject and to avoid real actions in the Temple complex. He wrote, "The issue of the Temple is beyond human intellect like many other topics. Therefore, one must stand before it in awe without thinking that it can be dealt with using our human capacities."

"There are a many great genius scholars and rabbis who have emphatically expressed their opinion that the Temple Mount must not be touched at all," wrote Rabbi Aviner, claiming that those who claimed as such were no less moral, no less brave, and no less idealistic for doing so.

"He who says not to touch it is not necessarily weak, and the enthusiast is not necessarily the hero," said Rabbi Aviner.

Jerusalem: Temple Mount riots resume

On backdrop of high state of alert in Jerusalem holy site, police attacked with stones, Molotov cocktails. Forces enter Mount in order to catch rioters, using shock grenades; at least 18 people arrested, including Fatah official and Islamic Movement leader. Nine police officers lightly hurt; Palestinians say eight worshippers also injured.

....Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen told reporters while visiting the Mount, "I identify many large groups of east Jerusalem Arabs and Israeli Arabs who have arrived here following calls made by the Islamic Movement, whose leaders are here. I call on them to practice restraint and calm and not to incite. "The Jerusalem Police will act firmly against any rioters on the Temple Mount. The inciters are the same people you know. It's impossible that the Israel Police will have to deal with the Islamic Movement every Sunday, and so we will handle this on the investigative level." He clarified that the police did not enter the al-Aqsa Mosque and had no plans to do so. The Jerusalem Police accused elements in the Islamic Movement and Hamas of inflaming the situation after calling on youngsters to riot on the Temple Mount on Saturday. Police officials clarified that the forces were prepared for the disturbances and exerted efforts to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount, allowing worshippers and tourists to enter the site. Several minutes after the Mount opened for prayers, however, rioters began hurling stones, objects, Molotov cocktails, acid and oil at police officers patrolling the area, forcing the police to enter the site..... The Islamic Movement announced that it would make buses available for worshipers who wish to arrive at the mosque Sunday. The movement's spokesman Zahy Nujeidat said the flyer calling Arabs to protect the area was issued "in response to those who try and desecrate al-Aqsa." According to police, there was a call for the capital's Arab residents to "protect Temple Mount from Jewish conquest," as well as a call on Jews by extreme-right elements to arrive at the compound.

See also Jordan: Israeli 'provocations' at Temple Mount threaten peace.

Jerusalem Post

9 cops, reporter lightly hurt in J'lem

Nine police officers and a foreign reporter were lightly wounded Sunday during clashes between security forces and Arab rioters in the capital.Police were forced to enter the Temple Mount twice during the the day of fierce rioting, and were met by a hail of rocks and a firebomb. A female Australian journalist was struck in the head by a rock during the disturbances, apparently after being caught between rioters and security forces near an entrance to the Temple Mount in the Muslim Quarter. She was treated at the scene.

Police said the disturbances began when officers were accompanying a group of tourists up to the mount. According to police, several Muslim youngsters were caught on video preparing to cause trouble; gathering rocks to throw and pouring oil onto the ground to hinder the access of security forces and the visitors. Following the discovery, police reinforcements stormed the mount, and were pelted with stones and a fire bomb by the young rioters. The rioters were dispersed with stun grenades and rubber bullets, and a tense calm was briefly restored to the area.

Security forces ascended the mount for a second time when Arab youths began hurling rocks just as police officers were talking to the Waqf in a bid to convince some 100 Muslim youths, who had been involved in the earlier violence, to come out of the Aksa Mosque, where they had holed themselves up. Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the officers had promised not to arrest them if they came out.

Police didn't enter the mosque, but throughout the day those inside occasionally opened the shuttered doors to throw various objects, such as chairs, at the security forces.

Palestinian medics accused Israel of preventing ambulances from reaching the area. Two wounded protesters were seen being taken away, including an elderly man who had been shot in the leg with a rubber bullet. Early Sunday afternoon, Arab youths hurled rocks at police in the alleyways of the Muslim Quarter, also burning garbage and pieces of wood in the streets. There were also clashes in the nearby neighborhood of Ras el-Amud, where riots ended shortly after midday.

In total, 18 Arab rioters were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and violence against police officers. Among them were Ali Abu Sheikha, of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, and Khatem Abd al-Kader, holder of the Jerusalem dossier in Fatah, who was banished from the Old City earlier in October on charges of inciting riots.

Although police had earlier said they were bracing for the possibility of renewed clashes, no restrictions had initially been placed on Muslims entering the Temple Mount for Sunday prayers, or on visitors who arrived in the morning to tour the compound. However, following the early morning clashes, access to the site was restricted to Muslim women, and men over 50 holding Israeli ID cards. A Muslim cleric then issued a call over the Temple Mount loudspeaker to "come and defend" the Aksa Mosque. The already high alert level in the capital had come in response to what police said were previous calls by both Jewish and Islamic religious leaders to ascend the Temple Mount. Muslim worshipers were called to Jerusalem Sunday mostly by east Jerusalem Muslim clerics and their counterparts from the northern branch of the Islamic Movement.

While the police spokesman declined to specify where the Jewish calls had originated, Sunday had been publicized as the day to commemorate the visit by Maimonides to the Temple Mount 843 years ago. In the past, Jews have ascended the mount to mark the anniversary, 6 Heshvan. However, there was no Jewish presence at the site on Sunday, and Jewish prayers at the Western Wall went on undisturbed.

Ynet

Prof. Weiss at rightist event: Build third temple immediately.

In a move that may heighten tensions in the capital, the Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount (OHRTM) called for Jews to visit the east Jerusalem compound, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque. During a rightist event held in Jerusalem Sunday evening, just hours after Muslims rioted in and around the Temple Mount amid reports that Jewish extremists were planning to visit the site, Professor Hillel Weiss said, "The (third) temple must be built now. The mosques do not have to be destroyed in order for us to do this."

The conference, which was attended by a number of Knesset members and leading rabbis, was held in protest of the decision to seal off the compound due to the recent violence. "It's time that we stop surrendering to violence," Temple Institute Director Rabbi Yehuda Glick said, adding that "before his assassination, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin said the greatest threat to Israeli democracy is bowing down to violence. "Unfortunately, lately police are surrendering and withdrawing in the face of the Palestinians' violence," said the rabbi.

Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior said, "It is vital that the Israeli people visit the (Temple Mount). We are suffering because a large segment of the populations is indifferent towards this issue. "Reclaiming our sovereignty over (the Temple Mount) will bring redemption closer," said the rabbi.

Far-right activist Moshe Feiglin told the conference that the Temple Mount riots and the Goldstone Report, which accuses the IDF of committing war crimes during its December-January conflict with Hamas in Gaza, both constitute attempts to "undermine our legitimacy in this land."

Octobr 26, 2009

Haaretz

Religious Zionist rabbis: Ascend the Temple Mount

Top religious Zionist leaders came together Sunday at a rightist conference advocating Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount. It's hard to remember when was the last time Israel saw such a unity between its religious Zionist leaders. Political rivals such as MKs Uri Orbach and Michael Ben Ari sat side by side on the center stage; Moderate rabbis 'respectful of the government' like Rabbi Yuval Sherlo and Rabbi Yaakov Medan came together with 'rebellious Haredi nationalists' such as Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and Rabbi Dov Lior.

They all joined together to call upon the Jewish public to ascend the Temple Mount, despite the harsh criticism directed at them from the Haredi sector as well as from some national-religious rabbis. Rabbi Medan, one of the heads of the moderate Yeshivat Har Etzion, told the conference participants that he recently met with a 'top defense official' and discussed the sparse presence of Jews in the Temple Mount. "He spoke of the significance of Jews ascending the Temple Mount, and said that he already got us permits to ascend. 'Where are you?,' he asked. He sees this as an existential struggle, and believes we must recruit more people."

Despite the conference's political unity, many of the speeches carried an apologetic tone towards those opposing to the ascent of the Temple Mount because of Jewish law. Some of the religious Zionist rabbis still oppose the ascent to the Temple Mount on the basis of Jewish law, a position similar to all the Haredi rabbis. Rabbi Shlomo Avinar, a religious Zionist Rabbi, published an article on Sunday in the newspaper Makor Rishon where he wrote "The Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook was no less idealistic, no less courageous, no less devoted, didn't have less intuition than all the 'bad seeds that set fire to fields'. He pushed the whole settler movement, and instructed not to touch the Temple Mount. He who says not to touch isn't necessarily weak, and the enthusiast isn't necessarily a hero."

October 27, 2009

Haaretz

After two weeks of quiet, violence flares again on Temple Mount

After two weeks of relative quiet in the Jerusalem area, disturbances again broke out in the city and its periphery yesterday morning. Shortly after the Temple Mount was opened up to tourists and other non-Muslim visitors, several dozen Palestinians began throwing stones at both police and tourists. The police attempted to disperse the stone throwers and the Temple Mount was closed to visitors.

According to Palestinian medical personnel on the scene, 30 worshippers on the Temple Mount required medical attention as a result of the disturbances, among them two first-aid workers and five journalists who had been hit by police. Among those detained was Hatem Abdel Kader, who holds the Jerusalem portfolio in the Fatah leadership. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow regarding a request to extend his detention. Abdel Kader was arrested, according to the police, after attacking police officers and calling on worshippers to march out in a procession.

Yesterday's disturbances appear to have been sparked, as in the past, by printed announcements by Jewish groups seeking to gain access to the Temple Mount to pray. The northern branch of the Islamic Movement and other parties, including Abdel Kader, called on the Palestinian public to come to the Temple Mount to defend it. The confrontations then ensued. A senior member of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Ali Abu Sheikha, was detained yesterday in the Old City on suspicion of disturbing the peace and calling on Muslims on the scene to go out and demonstrate.

At another Jerusalem location yesterday afternoon, an Australian journalist was injured in the head by a stone thrown at police and border guards in the Old City. She was treated at the scene and did not require further medical attention.

Over the weekend, the Jerusalem police raised their level of alert following calls by Muslim leaders to "defend the Temple Mount from conquest by Jews" alongside calls from right-wing Jewish activists for Jews to come to the Temple Mount in large numbers. Police deployed reinforcements around the area yesterday, and more generally in the Old City and in East Jerusalem, to prevent disturbances. At the same time, however, they decided not to limit access to Muslim worshipers, Jewish visitors and other tourists to the site, reportedly based on a police policy to enable freedom of worship despite the warnings.

Following a police situation assessment yesterday morning, Police Commissioner David Cohen said the Islamic Movement was directing and fomenting large numbers of East Jerusalem residents and Israeli Arabs on the Temple Mount. "The police," Cohen said, "will use a heavy hand against those rioters, inciters and demonstrators." Jerusalem police also pointed a finger at Hamas as a source for the unrest.

The Islamic Movement yesterday accused the police of provoking worshipers at the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, claiming the Islamic Movement had not undertaken any unusual activity over the weekend. A spokesman for the movement's northern branch, Zahi Najidat, told Haaretz: "Every day we organize buses from all over the country with women and children to the [Temple Mount] mosque plaza to pray and visit the holy site. Over the weekend, there was a routine call for people to come to the mosque and because of the tension over the mosque, many answered the call." Najidat said the trips to the Temple Mount would continue over the coming days.

The disturbances in the Old City began at about 8 A.M. yesterday when dozens of young Palestinians began throwing stones at police officers who'd arrived at the area near the Temple Mount. The Palestinians also spilled oil in the area, in an apparent attempt to cause members of the police force to slip. The police then entered the Temple Mount compound, emptied it of worshipers, and used stun grenades to arrest three stone-throwers.

The police were met with Molotov cocktails and stones, and were lightly injured, with one taken to Hadassah Ein Karem. Dozens of young people congregated at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Nine others suspected of involvement in the disturbances were arrested at the approaches to the Temple Mount.

MK Talab al-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) warned that "Israel was provoking a billion Muslims who would not hesitate to defend the Al-Aqsa mosque with their bodies." A leading Sunni Muslim religious figure, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, called on the Arab League and the kings of Saudi Arabia and Morocco to intervene immediately over the situation on the Temple Mount.

October 29, 2009

Haaretz

ANALYSIS / Palestinian anger over Jerusalem is affecting Abbas

The pattern repeats itself: A relatively marginal Jewish organization calls upon the public to hold prayers on the Temple Mount to mark Yom Kippur, Sukkot or, as was the case this week, "Rambam Day" (commemorating Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon's visit to the Land of Israel in the 12th century). These announcements win a great deal of attention in the Palestinian and Arab media, of course.

Muslim clerics, Palestinian politicians and members of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel urge Muslims to flock to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to defend it from Jewish "takeover attempts." On the day of the "operation," these groups arrive at the Temple Mount, accompanied by Arab media representatives (especially the Al Jazeera TV crew). They all wait until 7:30 A.M., when the Israel Police open the Mughrabi Gate to entry by non-Muslims. The Jewish groups do not even bother to show up, but the police who enter to enable the hypothetical visit are greeted with massive stone-throwing.

Meanwhile, Fatah members are in the mosque to express their solidarity and to prove that they aren't being directed by Israel's Arabs, but rather are leading this fight themselves. One of the most prominent figures present is the man who holds the Jerusalem portfolio for Fatah, Hatem Abdel Qader, who was arrested there this week on suspicion of incitement.

As is the case with his fellow Fatah activists, it's doubtful that Abdel Qader really wants the escalation on the mount to spark a conflagration throughout the territories. Their main intention seems to be to make their presence felt, to let off steam and then to return to routine in the compound. But the political environment, and especially the media, pushes them to make very aggressive statements against Israel, including accusations of attempts to damage the Al-Aqsa Mosque, even though nothing has changed on the ground at the Temple Mount in recent weeks.

On Sunday evening, the bureau of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas released a statement condemning Israel for "extremist activities at Al-Aqsa." In the extraordinarily scathing statement, the Palestinian Authority accused Israel of sending Jewish soldiers and officers to damage the mosque, and of taking provocative steps against the Arabs of Jerusalem. "Jerusalem is a red line that must not be crossed ... The Palestinian people and its national authority will defend the holy places," declared the statement.

This was the first time Abbas' bureau had used the terms "resistance" and "battle." It also said: "Our people will continue to cling to the land of our holy city and will be victorious in resisting its Judaization, its takeover and the expulsion of its citizens."

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the president's spokesman, called upon the Palestinian people to overcome the disputes and "to unite in the battle to defend Jerusalem and the holy places."

Abbas is nearly the only Palestinian leader who opposed the use of violence throughout the Al-Aqsa intifada, especially the rocket fire from Gaza. The problem is that the current mood - among the media, his rivals in Hamas and even from top Fatah officials - is contagious and affecting even the PA president's bureau.

The most outstanding example of Fatah's new rhetoric, so reminiscent of that of Abbas' predecessor Yasser Arafat, was heard two weeks ago, when several members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council convened at the culture hall in Ramallah. On the stage sat four members of the party's central committee, at least three of whom are considered bitter enemies: Mahmoud Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, Tawfik Tirawi and the Fatah representative in Lebanon, Sultan Abu al-Aynayn. If, a year ago, a Fatah member would have been told that they would sit side by side without fighting, he would certainly have thought it was some sort of fantasy.

It appears that Abu al-Aynan did not exactly call at that gathering for a renewal of suicide attacks, as the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi claimed, but he did praise the muqawama, the resistance, very highly. For his part, Tirawi declared, "We shall resist, we shall resist, we shall resist," and promised the resistance would last for 50 years. (In a conversation with Haaretz afterward, he claimed he said only that if Israel says it will keep negotiating for 20 years, the Palestinians will keep resisting for 50 years.)

The problem is that members of Fatah's military wing - who dropped out of the armed struggle against Israel after Hamas' violent coup in Gaza in June 2007 - could take the talk about resistance literally, and go back to initiating attacks. By the same token, Fatah's attempts to help organize the riots on the Temple Mount are liable to exact a high price in violence. If, in the next round of clashes, an Israeli policeman feels that his life is in danger and reacts by shooting and killing Palestinian demonstrators, as has happened in the past, this is liable to lead to a conflagration, especially given the current dead end in the diplomatic realm.

Rajoub also acknowledged in a conversation with Haaretz that the feeling of frustration and bitterness is indeed affecting the tone of Fatah leaders.

October 31, 2009

Haaretz

Israeli Arabs accuse Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in Jerusalem

An umbrella organization for Israeli Arab groups accused Israel on Saturday of perpetrating "ethnic cleansing" in Jerusalem, in the wake of Israel's quelling of riots by Arab youths on the Temple Mount. "Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, and the defense of Al-Aqsa and of East Jerusalem is an obligation for the whole Palestinian people, and for the Arab nation," the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee said in a statement. The group was referring to the Al-Aqsa mosque, which sits atop the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.

"The occupation is the most illegitimate thing in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the struggle against it is a natural and legitimate act," the committee added.

On Sunday, Israeli police firing stun grenades faced off against masked Palestinian rioters hurling stones and plastic chairs outside the Temple Mount, where past violence has escalated into prolonged conflict. Some of the rioters remained holed up in the mosque with police outside for several hours until dispersing before nightfall. Police arrested eighteen of them, and no serious injuries were reported. Similar incidents of violence have erupted over the past month at the site.