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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Does anyone seriously think the PLO would allow Jews to visit holy places?

When people talk about how a peace plan would look, "everyone knows" that Bethlehem and Hebron and much of Jeruslaem would be under Arab control, and the Jewish holy places there - the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb - would be freely accessible because, well, there would be peace!

Isn't that obvious?

Sure, Jordan promised that Jews would be able to visit their holy place when they illegally annexed Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria in 1949 - and they lied.

But now is different, right? The PLO will promise free access to holy places, and that's good enough, right?

Ma'an reports:
Israeli forces escorted seven buses carrying Israeli settlers to the tomb to perform Jewish rites, witnesses said.

Youths began to throw stones and empty bottles at the military forces, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades at the demonstrators and nearby houses.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the second intifada, or uprising, and it was immediately destroyed and burnt by the Palestinians.

The restoration of the tomb was completed recently, and following improved security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the army allows Jewish worshipers to make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the site.
The IDF has to protect Jews - who are forced to visit only once a month, in the middle of the night - on their visit to Joseph's Tomb.

What would the Palestinian Arab security forces do when Jews wanted to visit their holy spots and Arab "youths" decide to shoot guns and throw stones and Molotov cocktails?

If they don't join in the attack themselves, they would solemnly announce that - for the Jews' own safety, of course - all future visits must be banned. The mere sight of Jews on holy Muslim land hurts Arab feelings and their delicate psyches must be protected from this assault. You understand, right? I mean, they are holy Muslim sites as well, we cannot just allow Jews to visit anytime they want and cause disturbances, right?

And, just like in 1949, the world will shrug. Because, for "peace," everyone knows that Jews must be tolerant of Arabs but Arabs cannot be expected to be tolerant of Jews.