07-16-2017, 10:55 PM
*** 17-Jul-17 World View -- Tensions at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount surge again
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Muslim leaders express outrage at metal detectors at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount
****
![[Image: g170716b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170716b.jpg)
Muslims pray in front of metal detectors placed outside of al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount on Sunday
Muslim leaders are expressing outrage at the security measures taken
by Israel at the al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount compound in East
Jerusalem, at its reopening after a two-day closure triggered by a
deadly gun battle on Friday morning.
On Friday morning, three gunmen, killed two police officers. The
gunmen were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. The victims were
two Druze policemen.
Immediately following the incident, Israeli police closed the mosque
and prevented worshipers from entering the compound during Friday
prayers for the first time since 1967. (There is some confusion about
this point, because Israel closed the mosque for two days in 2014,
after several days of violence. Apparently, this was the first
closure during Friday prayers since 1967.)
During the closure, Israeli police swept for weapons, and installed
security devices, including closed-circuit television cameras and
metal detectors. Israeli officials say that the police sweep through
the compound found knives, slingshots, batons, spikes and unexploded
ordnance.
When the mosque was reopened on Sunday, Ahmed Omar al-Kiswani,
director of al-Aqsa mosque, told Muslim worshippers not to go through
the metal detectors:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The closure of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the
> occupation in itself and the prevention of the call for prayers
> are all unfair and unjust and constitute a violation to the United
> Nations resolutions and the international agreements.
>
> We hold the Israeli government responsible for the changes they
> have made in the al-Aqsa Mosque and taking its control away from
> us. We will stay outside the mosque until we get back the way it
> was taken from us. ...
>
> We won’t agree to this violation of the status quo, and we will
> only return to the mosque once it is restored. We will not accept
> security checks at Al-Aqsa. ... Don’t go through the
> gates."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Muslim worshippers appear to be split. While dozens of worshippers
did as al-Kiswani told them and refused to go through the metal
detectors, and instead prayed outside the mosque, hundreds more did go
through the metal detectors and prayed inside as usual.
Jordan and Israel have been jointly providing security to the
compound, under an agreement reached in November 2014 after days of
violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis. However,
after Friday morning's shooting, Israeli security took complete
control of the compound and shut out the Jordanian guards. According
to some news reports, Jordan’s King Abdullah II telephoned Israel's
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening, and demanded
that the mosque be reopened.
Now the mosque is reopened, but some Muslim leaders are saying that
the metal detectors and security cameras that were installed without
consultation with the Jordanians change the status quo of the mosque,
and are part of an effort to completely shut out all Muslims from the
compound.
According to analyst Daoud Kuttab:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"This is a very worrisome change. "It sounds like it
> is going to be troublesome for the days to come. Those who killed
> the soldiers are not from the West Bank or Jerusalem. They came
> from Israel. They are Israeli citizens. Palestinians are being
> punished for what Israeli Palestinian citizens of Israel have
> done."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
It would seem to me that the security measures are for the protection
of both Muslims and Jews, but we live in a world today where everyone
on all sides of any issue refuses as a matter of principle to make any
sense. Times of Israel and Washington Post and al-Jazeera
****
**** Concerns grow of a new round of violence at compound
****
When the al-Aqsa mosque was shut down for two days in October 2014,
for the first time since 2000, Palestinian Authority (PA) president
Mahmoud Abbas said that the move was "tantamount to a declaration of
war" by Israelis on Palestinians. Those words indicate the
explosive levels of tensions that exist.
![[Image: g141030b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g141030b.jpg)
Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem (AFP)
The al-Aqsa mosque compound is known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif
(the Noble Sanctuary), which the golden Dome of the Rock shrine and
Al-Aqsa mosque. It's the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand
Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi
Arabia, and it's believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his
night journey to heaven.
The Jews refer to the same compound as Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount,
and is the holiest site in the Jewish religion, because it's believed
that buried underneath the Mosque are the remains of the Temple at
Jerusalem. In 66 AD, the Jews in Judea began a rebellion against
their Roman colonizers. The Romans massacred tens of thousands of
Jews and destroyed the city of Jerusalem including, in 70 AD, the
Temple at Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem, including the compound, was seized and annexed by
Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, but this annexation has never been
internationally recognized, and most news media refer to it as an
"occupation."
In 2000, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon went to Temple Mount and
prayed there, infuriating the Palestinians, and triggering the "second
intifada," the Palestinian uprising against the Israelis that lasted
until 2005. A compromise was devised that would permit Jews to visit
Temple Mount as tourists, but not to pray there.
In 2014, East Jerusalem was the epicenter of increasing clashes
between Palestinians and Israelis ever since the bodies of three
Israeli teenage settlers were found weeks after they were abducted on
June 10 by terrorists that Israelis believe were commissioned by
Hamas. They were the subject of an extensive manhunt throughout the
West Bank, during which hundreds of Palestinians, mostly members of
Hamas, were arrested. Israel was shocked three weeks later, when the
teens were found dead in a pit in the West Bank.
This was followed by a spiral of violence that led to the 57-day war
between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in July and August 2014. Even after
the war ended, there were continuing clashes in East Journalism,
especially around the al-Aqsa mosque. Israel shut down access to the
mosque for two days in October, leading Palestinian president Mahmoud
Abbas to call it "tantamount to a declaration of war," and Jordan to
recall its ambassador to Israel.
Sporadic violence continued throughout 2015, when knife attacks by
Palestinian teenagers on Israelis were becoming fairly common.
Israeli security officials were baffled about how to prevent the knife
attacks because, unlike suicide bomber vests, a knife can easily and
openly be carried from place to place and wielded at a moment's
notice. It was feared that the number of attacks would grow.
However, by the end of the year it appeared that that the teenage
knife attacks had run their course, despite encouragement from Hamas
that they be continued.
Since then, there's been little international news about violence in
Jerusalem, mainly because the "Israeli - Palestinian issue" has been
pushed out of the news by other issues, particularly the war in Syria
and, more recently, the split between Qatar and four Arab nations.
However, this state of affairs is not to the liking of many
Palestinian leaders, who want the Palestinian issue once again to
be the main topic of discussion and news reporting throughout
the world.
One sign of the times is that few if any Palestinians leaders are
willing to condemn the murders that took place on Friday morning, and
indeed the chairman of Jordan's parliament, Atef Tarawneh, said, "May
God have mercy on our martyrs who watered our pure soil. One gets
gets the impression that Palestinian leaders would like to see more
such murders take place. AFP and YNet News (Israel) and Jerusalem Post
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Israel, Jerusalem,
al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary,
Har HaBayit, Temple Mount, Ahmed Omar al-Kiswani,
Jordan, King Abdullah II, Benjamin Netanyahu,
Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Daoud Kuttab,
Ariel Sharon, Atef Tarawneh
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Muslim leaders express outrage at metal detectors at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount
- Concerns grow of a new round of violence at compound
****
**** Muslim leaders express outrage at metal detectors at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount
****
Muslims pray in front of metal detectors placed outside of al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount on Sunday
Muslim leaders are expressing outrage at the security measures taken
by Israel at the al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount compound in East
Jerusalem, at its reopening after a two-day closure triggered by a
deadly gun battle on Friday morning.
On Friday morning, three gunmen, killed two police officers. The
gunmen were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. The victims were
two Druze policemen.
Immediately following the incident, Israeli police closed the mosque
and prevented worshipers from entering the compound during Friday
prayers for the first time since 1967. (There is some confusion about
this point, because Israel closed the mosque for two days in 2014,
after several days of violence. Apparently, this was the first
closure during Friday prayers since 1967.)
During the closure, Israeli police swept for weapons, and installed
security devices, including closed-circuit television cameras and
metal detectors. Israeli officials say that the police sweep through
the compound found knives, slingshots, batons, spikes and unexploded
ordnance.
When the mosque was reopened on Sunday, Ahmed Omar al-Kiswani,
director of al-Aqsa mosque, told Muslim worshippers not to go through
the metal detectors:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The closure of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the
> occupation in itself and the prevention of the call for prayers
> are all unfair and unjust and constitute a violation to the United
> Nations resolutions and the international agreements.
>
> We hold the Israeli government responsible for the changes they
> have made in the al-Aqsa Mosque and taking its control away from
> us. We will stay outside the mosque until we get back the way it
> was taken from us. ...
>
> We won’t agree to this violation of the status quo, and we will
> only return to the mosque once it is restored. We will not accept
> security checks at Al-Aqsa. ... Don’t go through the
> gates."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Muslim worshippers appear to be split. While dozens of worshippers
did as al-Kiswani told them and refused to go through the metal
detectors, and instead prayed outside the mosque, hundreds more did go
through the metal detectors and prayed inside as usual.
Jordan and Israel have been jointly providing security to the
compound, under an agreement reached in November 2014 after days of
violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis. However,
after Friday morning's shooting, Israeli security took complete
control of the compound and shut out the Jordanian guards. According
to some news reports, Jordan’s King Abdullah II telephoned Israel's
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening, and demanded
that the mosque be reopened.
Now the mosque is reopened, but some Muslim leaders are saying that
the metal detectors and security cameras that were installed without
consultation with the Jordanians change the status quo of the mosque,
and are part of an effort to completely shut out all Muslims from the
compound.
According to analyst Daoud Kuttab:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"This is a very worrisome change. "It sounds like it
> is going to be troublesome for the days to come. Those who killed
> the soldiers are not from the West Bank or Jerusalem. They came
> from Israel. They are Israeli citizens. Palestinians are being
> punished for what Israeli Palestinian citizens of Israel have
> done."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
It would seem to me that the security measures are for the protection
of both Muslims and Jews, but we live in a world today where everyone
on all sides of any issue refuses as a matter of principle to make any
sense. Times of Israel and Washington Post and al-Jazeera
****
**** Concerns grow of a new round of violence at compound
****
When the al-Aqsa mosque was shut down for two days in October 2014,
for the first time since 2000, Palestinian Authority (PA) president
Mahmoud Abbas said that the move was "tantamount to a declaration of
war" by Israelis on Palestinians. Those words indicate the
explosive levels of tensions that exist.
Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem (AFP)
The al-Aqsa mosque compound is known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif
(the Noble Sanctuary), which the golden Dome of the Rock shrine and
Al-Aqsa mosque. It's the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand
Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi
Arabia, and it's believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his
night journey to heaven.
The Jews refer to the same compound as Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount,
and is the holiest site in the Jewish religion, because it's believed
that buried underneath the Mosque are the remains of the Temple at
Jerusalem. In 66 AD, the Jews in Judea began a rebellion against
their Roman colonizers. The Romans massacred tens of thousands of
Jews and destroyed the city of Jerusalem including, in 70 AD, the
Temple at Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem, including the compound, was seized and annexed by
Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, but this annexation has never been
internationally recognized, and most news media refer to it as an
"occupation."
In 2000, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon went to Temple Mount and
prayed there, infuriating the Palestinians, and triggering the "second
intifada," the Palestinian uprising against the Israelis that lasted
until 2005. A compromise was devised that would permit Jews to visit
Temple Mount as tourists, but not to pray there.
In 2014, East Jerusalem was the epicenter of increasing clashes
between Palestinians and Israelis ever since the bodies of three
Israeli teenage settlers were found weeks after they were abducted on
June 10 by terrorists that Israelis believe were commissioned by
Hamas. They were the subject of an extensive manhunt throughout the
West Bank, during which hundreds of Palestinians, mostly members of
Hamas, were arrested. Israel was shocked three weeks later, when the
teens were found dead in a pit in the West Bank.
This was followed by a spiral of violence that led to the 57-day war
between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in July and August 2014. Even after
the war ended, there were continuing clashes in East Journalism,
especially around the al-Aqsa mosque. Israel shut down access to the
mosque for two days in October, leading Palestinian president Mahmoud
Abbas to call it "tantamount to a declaration of war," and Jordan to
recall its ambassador to Israel.
Sporadic violence continued throughout 2015, when knife attacks by
Palestinian teenagers on Israelis were becoming fairly common.
Israeli security officials were baffled about how to prevent the knife
attacks because, unlike suicide bomber vests, a knife can easily and
openly be carried from place to place and wielded at a moment's
notice. It was feared that the number of attacks would grow.
However, by the end of the year it appeared that that the teenage
knife attacks had run their course, despite encouragement from Hamas
that they be continued.
Since then, there's been little international news about violence in
Jerusalem, mainly because the "Israeli - Palestinian issue" has been
pushed out of the news by other issues, particularly the war in Syria
and, more recently, the split between Qatar and four Arab nations.
However, this state of affairs is not to the liking of many
Palestinian leaders, who want the Palestinian issue once again to
be the main topic of discussion and news reporting throughout
the world.
One sign of the times is that few if any Palestinians leaders are
willing to condemn the murders that took place on Friday morning, and
indeed the chairman of Jordan's parliament, Atef Tarawneh, said, "May
God have mercy on our martyrs who watered our pure soil. One gets
gets the impression that Palestinian leaders would like to see more
such murders take place. AFP and YNet News (Israel) and Jerusalem Post
Related Articles
- Palestinians accuse Israel of 'declaration of war' as tensions mount in Jerusalem (31-Oct-2014)
- Jordan returns its ambassador to Israel (03-Feb-2015)
- Abbas's UN speech raises concerns about a Palestinian 'third intifada' (05-Oct-2015)
- Israeli-Palestinian violence spreads across West Bank as anger grows (09-Oct-2015)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Israel, Jerusalem,
al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary,
Har HaBayit, Temple Mount, Ahmed Omar al-Kiswani,
Jordan, King Abdullah II, Benjamin Netanyahu,
Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Daoud Kuttab,
Ariel Sharon, Atef Tarawneh
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
