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Who is really to blame for the tensions on the Temple Mount?
By Avi Isaacharoff
Tags: Israel News, Jerusalem 

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.
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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.

Related articles:
  • Jordan rebukes Israel over Temple Mount strife
  • The little that remains on the Temple Mount
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  • Nadav Shragai / Great Muslim denial of Jewish ties to Temple Mount
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      1.   Who is realy to Blame 03:45  |  Hussein 05/10/09
      2.   And the context? 04:28  |  EGB 05/10/09
      3.   Which is why the WB needs to go back to Jordan 05:26  |  AKUS 05/10/09
      4.   hussein 05:51  |  JustinTime 05/10/09
      5.   "The PA is not doing enough"? Reaally? The PA is actually pushing 06:00  |  Galit from Nahariah 05/10/09
      6.   `JustinTime` is good at discribing himself 06:25  |  being self possesed 05/10/09
      7.   Hussein in Houston needs a history lesson 06:40  |  Dr. Jack 05/10/09
      8.   Josephus` historical record 07:14  |  marty 05/10/09
      9.   It seems that closing the mount to the caretaker Muslims 07:17  |  Esther 05/10/09
      10.   @1 Hussein 07:39  |  SG. 05/10/09
      11.   @Hussein (1) and @Marty (7) 08:50  |  SG. 05/10/09
      12.   Blame Israel & its provocations against the Palestinians 09:28  |  Umm Einav 05/10/09
      13.   Abbas is a spineless worm 09:37  |  JS 05/10/09
      14.   Problem is hostile Muslims on Jewish holy sites 09:43  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 05/10/09
      15.   Explain this to me like I am dumb 09:49  |  Canadian 05/10/09
      16.   "Israeli software helps physicians identify abuse cases" 10:13  |  Esther 05/10/09
      17.   Funny how all the background is left out 10:15  |  sh 05/10/09
      18.   There will be a Third Initifada if Pal nation remains captive. 10:44  |  Michael 05/10/09
      19.   It is all PR politics for the Arabs 11:05  |  JO 05/10/09
      20.   Blame Zionist policy of creating facts 11:15  |  Ben Alofs 05/10/09
      21.   Dr Jack ass 11:32  |  john Spear 05/10/09
      22.   Who is to Blame. 12:07  |  Frank Pavel 05/10/09
      23.   Shoddy scholarship is to blame - Never was a Jewish temple on TM 12:14  |  Ivar 05/10/09
      24.   The Motives Are Clear and Not New 15:52  |  Yaakov Sullivan 05/10/09
      25.   The Status Quo Must Be Preserved 15:54  |  Yaakov Sullivan 05/10/09
      26.   David Stole Jerusalem!!! 15:57  |  Adam 05/10/09
      27.   Shoddy Scholarship - Ivar 16:09  |  Mark Lincoln 05/10/09
      28.   Historically, Muslim-Arabs have attacked Jews in Jerusalem, not 16:09  |  Eitan 05/10/09
      29.   Ivar talking out of his nether regions 16:52  |  SDHD 05/10/09
      30.   josepheus and the temple 16:57  |  ben 05/10/09
      31.   Visits to Temple Mount Memorable 17:51  |  Jane 05/10/09
      32.   Arabs claim legitimacy 18:11  |  Lola 05/10/09
      33.   The Temple 19:09  |  hollingsworth 05/10/09
      34.   Who`s making trouble? 19:31  |  Evelyn 05/10/09
      35.   chaim ben kahan 14 20:48  |  potobac 05/10/09
      36.   hollingsworth - hell will freeze over first 21:00  |  Jane 05/10/09
      37.   Solomon`s Temple? 21:50  |  hollingsworth 05/10/09
      38.   Not sure that Lola`s altogether right re: 22:00  |  hollingsworth 05/10/09
      39.   ALOFS Arab armies ethnic cleansing Hebron Jews dont make it yours 22:02  |  PETER SM 05/10/09
      40.   THE TEMPLE Mount is a monument to Arab invaders who built OVER 22:07  |  PETER SM 05/10/09
      41.   HUSSEIN You have already refused E.Jerusalem & your last Fatah 22:13  |  PETER SM 05/10/09
      42.   Obviously the Jews are to blame for not reasserting dominion ... 22:16  |  Johnson 05/10/09
      43.   EGB The context being the last Fatah meeting! 22:17  |  PETER SM 05/10/09
      44.   The PA has done more than enough to incite these riots 22:27  |  Realist 05/10/09
      45.   tiresome 23:01  |  robins 05/10/09
      46.   hollingsworth 23:41  |  17 05/10/09
      47.   Deception 01:36  |  Carole 06/10/09
      48.   Hollingsworth, the Temple Mount Faithful are Judaic Taliban... 03:25  |  BBSNews 06/10/09
      49.   Who is to blame for the tensions on the Temple Mount? 03:45  |  Mark Lincoln 06/10/09
      50.   Who`s really to blame 07:28  |  howiej 06/10/09
      51.   Ariel Sharon of course is to blame... 14:52  |  John 06/10/09
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