Netanyahu: Palestinian distortion of historical facts hurts Mideast peace drive
Responding to PA report refuting the Western Wall's Jewish significance, PM says Palestinians should build a bridge of reconciliation, instead of revising history.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Israel news Western Wall Benjamin Netanyahu Middle East peaceA Palestinian Authority report claiming the Western Wall was not a Jewish holy site and was, in fact, sacred to Muslims poses a serious question as to the Palestinian's desire to reach a peace deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
 |
Benjamin Netanyahu during weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Nov. 21, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
The prime minister's rebuke came in the wake of a report released by a senior PA official on Wednesday which said the Western Wall had no religious significance to Jews and is in fact, holy Muslim property.
Al-Mutawakil Taha, deputy minister of information in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority that rules the West Bank, told The Associated Press that his five-page study published on a Palestinian government website reflected the official Palestinian position.
In a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday, Netanyahu severely criticized the PA-sponsored study, saying that "denying the link binding the Jewish people and the Western Wall by the Palestinian information office is a travesty."
"When the Palestinians Authority denies the connection between the Jewish people and the Western Wall it raises serious questions as to its intentions to reach a peace deal founded on coexistence and mutual recognition," the statement said, adding that the PA must cease its "distortion of historical facts and encourage a bridge to peace that would lead to a historical reconciliation between the two peoples.
Part of the report released by the Palestinians on Wednesday disputes that the Western Wall was a retaining wall of the Temple compound, discarding centuries of documentation and archaeology.
"This wall has never been a part of what is called the Jewish Temple," the report claimed. "However, it was Islamic tolerance which allowed the Jews to stand before it and cry over its loss."
The report concludes that since Jews have no claim to the area, it is holy Muslim territory and must be part of Palestinian Jerusalem.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
if anyone is a master at making up information and getting information wrong just because they believe 'what was' and not 'what is', that would be the israelis. they have been away from this area so long their skin has turned white.
This statement is clearly meant to establish the political position that giving up the Western Wall (but not the Dome of the Rock above it) will be a Palestinian concession in the peace process. In other words, Israel does not get it without trading an Israeli concession that matches it in significance.
It's not the the "Palestinian should build a bridge of reconciliation, instead of revising history", rather it's the Israeli's
if Jerusalem is ever torn apart by the insanely illusionist hope that Muslim Arabs will not continue their relentless efforts at ethnic cleansing of the ME.
The PA knows that in the fight to claim rights to the land it will lose if it relies on facts & archaeological evidence, so it has to resort to lying. Just as the fabrication of "palestinian" nationality is a myth, the concept of muslim ownership of the Kotel is another pathetic lie. There is no archaeological or scientific dispute as to the Jewish origins of the Western Wall, the portion of which is visible on the surface goes back 1200 years before Islam. The real question is - how can Israel be expected to negotiate a peace treaty when the PA is obviously not negotiating in good faith & their ultimate goal (as stated in the Fatah charter) is the destruction of Israel?
Bibi is scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find more ways to slow, slow, sloooooow down the "peace process".
Just like Jews deny the rights of Palestinians to live on the land by calling them squatters and pretending as if the land was completely empty when Jewish IMMIGRANTS began arriving in the 1930s and 1940s.
No one should tell the Jewish people what is a Jewish holy site! Not even some arab with the only goal to destroy Israel! Israel is looking for a fair peace. This means for the arabs to stay away from Jerusalem and also the holy Jewish sites!
It is exactly attitudes like yours that is the reason why there is perpetual conflict. You of all people should not be surprized that war will continue....
Then WHY does Israel tell the Palestinians and the world what *is* a Jewish holy site inside the occupied West Bank? I'm not just talking about the Western Wall. Israel has declared dozens of other locations throughout the West Bank to be Jewish holy historic sites. This supposedly justifies the Settlements which are built nearby. Further, Israeli Settlers have taken over water sources and springs and forbidden Arabs or Palestinians from using them. WHY DOES iSRAEL DO WHAT IT FORBIDS PALESTINIANS FROM DOING?
The second temple was dismantled by the Romans, every stone including the foundations. So what is the "Western Wall"? Herods palace?
and is part of historical Jerusalem where many people lived and still live and will change hands numerous times and israel will pass just like the others did.
And how do you know that ? You are just shooting your mouth off.
Something must be terribly wrong with the Palestinians. They seem to go backwards in their thinking. They have not done anything good for the last 60 yrs and it seems nothing is going to be done for the next 60 yrs. This is the good bye to a Palestinian state.
It's funny, because distorting historical facts is what Israel has been doing since its very inception, propagating hoaxes about Palestinians being squatters arrived in the 19th century and similar nonsense. Get a grip.
The sad irony of it all is most American Jews bought this distorted history and vehemntly believe it to be the truth and the only truth. This is the double tragedy. American Jews are under the illusion that they know what is best for Israel , a lot more than Israelis themselves....
Revising history has been perfected by the revisionists who run the Israeli government, the IDF historians, the people who write the textbooks, and all those who dream at night about Jabotinsky and his progeny.
"'Of course it's a political position' Taha said. Taha said he wrote the report after Israeli officials on Sunday approved a five-year renovation plan for the Western Wall area."// Taha knows that he may be making things up, but he thinks this is acceptable. His problem is that the West treats reality differently than Arabs do. (I exclude Western post-modernists from my statement.) Arabs have an easy time confusing wishful thinking with reality. (Read for example Raphael Patai's book "The Arab Mind".) This problem causes them untold harm in their own lives and national lives, including their terrible losses at the wars with Israel. It makes the Arabs difficult neighbors, but also defeatable neighbors. But what can you do, Israel cannot choose her neighbors.
There is no solution that is workable as long as Jews in Palestine want to be the rulers and others as subjects.....
What are you talking about? There never was a country called palestine. What is wrong with Jews wanting to be the rulers of their homeland?
During the Ottoman Empire control of the Jewish capital, standing orders for Turk troops was to behead on site any Jew approaching the Wailing Wall. With the PLO declaration...one in a series of Anti-Jew comments by the leadership of the PLO...it is further evidence that if the Old City was given to the palis, the Ottoman rule would probably be put back in force
I am, today, in Israel. I have seen, personally, the importance of Jerusalem, including the Wailing Wall, to the Jewish people. I think that only some parts from the city must be ceded to Arab Palestines. But the biggest ones have to continue under Israelian sovereignty. Luiz Felipe Haddad (Brazil).
It destroys Palestinian cemeteries, it destroys their mosques, it removes their people from the land to place settlements, it places Palestinian areas on Israeli tourist maps in its annexationist way. Is that fair? He did that before this Palestinian official even spoke.
Israel is and for ever will be a country of peace. Just dont try to attack or build on Israeli land!
in order to dilegitimize the Jew . The same old music , the same tune from the same old crowd be it Arab , European , Third world .......There is nothing new under the sun .
Prime Minister Netanyahu is correct in his criticism of Palestinians and others aiming at revising history to negate the Jewish connection to the Land and to particular sites in the land. However, he should admit, at the same time, that the Israeli government since its inception has done the same thing in reverse: obliterating traces of Arab culture and sites in the country. His criticism should be directed in both directions.
you have example for your comment? NO Muslim or Arab sites have been destroyed! Israel is meticulous in preserving and many times using JEWISH TAXPAYER funds to rebuild and restore Arab and Christian sites. You are couching an attack on Jews in some make pretend agreement
Asqlan Mosque, Yabna Mosque and Ashdod Mosque were ancient Mosques destroyed by Israel in the 50s under the orders of Moshe Dayan, along with another hundred or so. Read Miron Rapaport's report "No peaceful solution".
Chrisitan site renovation. The Fransiscans are the care takers of Christian sites for the Cathloics. Other denomination take care of their won. It is not true that Israel pays one shekel to renovate any christian sites. St. Anne's Chruch in Jeruslaem for example was " bombarded" by the IDF in June of 1967 . Who piad for the reconstruction? France did and not Israel.....
among many , today is Khirbet Yarza northern Jordan Valley) mosque destroyed by the IDF
The Museum, to be build on an ancient Muslim cemetery, is well named from an Israeli perspective. Because 'Tolerance' means to tolerate everything Jews want to do in and with Jerusalem and Palestine. If you don't agree you are an anti-Semite and Israel hater , which automatically identifies you as sub-human. Most probably a Nazi, terrorist sympathizer, friend of Ahmadinejad and Holocaust denier, too. The Museum will no doubt attempt to cure visitors of any such afflictions
Obviously it's an idiotic thing for the PA guy to say, but it's pretty hypocritical and unconvincing for Netanyahu to try to make a big fuss about it. Not that that will stop him, as usual.
First of all, there is no "UK" anymore, other than a couple of castles. That said, let's review: the UK silence on destruction of Buddhist sites in Afghanistan; the UK silence on genocide of Blacks by Arabs in the Sudan and of Kurds by Turks; That doesn't even start to comment on the illegal occupation of Argentine territory. And then, your release of a mass murderer of Americans for some Libyan oil. The list continues. Obviously your attack on Jews is traditional: blame the Jews to sidetrack from your own illegalities, incompetence, and support of mass murder
I'm afraid the UK doesn't have a spotless record. I've never pretended it does. We have a long history and have done many terrible things as well as many noble ones. However, as an American you'll know that we've been a relatively minor power since WW2 so our mistakes have been proportionately smaller. You'll know that since WW2 it's your own country that's been much more powerful and making much bigger mistakes than us. No doubt you'll want to hurl insults at yourself about that.
Are you serious? In other news, a new report was issued yesterday finding that Mecca is not, in fact, a Muslim holy site.
have an almighty chip on your shoulder regarding the UK or Great Britain & Northern Ireland if you prefer. In your case it must go back to the "Colonial" days.
"International Rule" somebody will chirp - been there, done that. UN didn't lift a finger to stopTrans-Jordan's 1948 invasion of UN-controlled, "Internationalized" Jerusalem, didn't lift a finger to stop Trans-Jordan's ethnic cleansing and murder of Old Jerusalem's entire Jewish poilupation and dynamiting of every single synagogue there, didn't lift a finger for 19 years of Jordanian barring of all Jewish worship in Jerusalem (not just Israelis). "International Community" or UN can thus never be an answer, after this massive failure. And we see from this lunatic pronouncement why the PA with its drooling religious bigotry can never be allowed to rule. They have ust disqualified themselves. Only Israeli rule, 1967-Present, provided resspect for all religions and free worship for all, for the first time in 1000 + years.
Baraks own coalition just passed a law which undermined his entire excuse placing blame on the Palestinians for the death of the peace initiative, now Bibi is thrashing about for another excuse. Sorry Bibi, your own raving fanatics have torpedoed the year long effort to pin the blame on Palestine and your latest effort is laughable. That happy gang of fanatics have just done more to discredit and delegitimize israel in a single act than anything the Palestinians have ever done. The important question is will sane and decent Israelis ever stop your drive to turn Israel into a pariah nation?
why doesn't israeli prime minister direct his government straight to the negotiating table and discuss all issues with their palestinian counterpart, instead of always finding stumbling blocks that prevent him from earnestly facing the facts regarding the finding a conclusive solution? his intentions may be not to find a solution for two states, as the majority of his followers would rather avoid to give the palestinians their state.
Here is the clear reason for ME impasse , the real culprit , and you look only where your closed mind is directed .
Because if the Arabs deny that the Western Wall and Rachel's Tomb are Jewish landmarks, then the complete Peace process is a sham. No need to even step into the batters box until they stop BSing the world. That these Holy sites are Jewish is as plain as the nose on your face.
Because Abbas refuses to come to the table. Have you heard of that ? Now you know why Israel should not do what you & and the other posters on this site want.
It seems that the Palestinians (as well as many Israelis) strive for an "one state solution". It is a pitty that so many people of good will are losing now their time trying to arrive to a decent agreement. . .