Friday, October 31, 2014
Caroline Glick: Being safe while isolated
Before formulating a strategy for dealing with Obama over the next two years, Israelis need to first take a deep breath and recognize that as bad as things are going to get, nothing that Obama will do to us over the next two years is as dangerous as what he has already done. No anti-Israel Security Council resolution, no Obama map of Israel’s borders will endanger Israel as much as his facilitation of Iran’s nuclear program.Sarah Honig: Zissel means sweetie
As unpleasant as anti-Israel Security Council resolutions will be, and as unpleasant as an Obama framework for Israel’s final borders will be, given the brevity of his remaining time in power, it is highly unlikely that any of the measures will have lasting impact.
At any rate, no matter how upsetting such resolutions may be, Goldberg’s article made clear that Israel should make no concessions to Obama in exchange for a reversal of his plans. Concessions to Obama merely escalate his contempt for us.
Bearing this in mind, Israel’s required actions in the wake of Goldberg’s sources’ warnings are fairly straightforward.
First, to the extent that Israel does have the capacity to damage Iran’s nuclear installations, Israel should act right away. Its capacity should not be saved for a more propitious political moment.
The only clock Israel should care about is Iran’s nuclear clock.
As for the Palestinians, whether Netanyahu’s willingness to stand up to Obama stems from the growing prospect of national elections or from his own determination that there is no point in trying to appease Obama anymore, the fact is that this is the only pragmatic policy for him to follow.
The proper response to the assassination attempt on Yehudah Glick is to allow Jews freedom of worship on the Temple Mount. The proper response to Obama’s nuclear negotiations is a bomb in Natanz. Obama will be angry with Israel for taking such steps. But he is angry with Israel for standing down. At least if we defend ourselves, we will be safe while isolated, rather than unsafe while isolated.
No squawk was raised anywhere about the fact that Abbas’s Fatah movement officially exalted Zissel’s murderer as a ‘heroic martyr.’Hezbollah operative targeted Jews, Israelis in Peru
Oftentimes what is barely mentioned – if at all – by the world’s media is (or ought to be) as thought-provoking as what the talking heads focus on with undisguised relish.
The fetching face of three-months-old Chaya Zissel Braun, for example, was missing from front pages around the globe and it was never featured on any foreign TV news outlets. She was murdered (as was 22-year-old student Karen Yemima Mosquera) last week by an Arab terrorist who homicidally rammed his vehicle into a crowd of passengers waiting at a light rail stop in the capital. But to observers abroad this amounted to dog bites man.
Uninteresting. Been there. Heard that before. Jewish whines. Who cares? Newsroom groupthink doesn’t only trickle down to conformist reporters on the scene who quickly figure out what the chiefs want to hear and what they shouldn’t be bothered with. The signals from atop the journalistic hierarchy determine for news consumers what constitutes news and what does not.
Media linchpins put together the current-events agenda and they shape mass awareness. Perforce they dictate public opinion. What doesn’t pass through their selective filter will forever remain esoteric knowledge – even in these days of social networking on the World Wide Web.
The cruel fate of little Zissel – whose name means “sweetie” in Yiddish and who hadn’t yet cut her first tooth – won’t be discussed by most Facebook users or by Twitter addicts. Nothing will make Zissel a cause célèbre in the Land of the Free, not even her American citizenship.
The abduction and coldblooded execution of another American citizen this summer, teenage schoolboy Naftali Fraenkel, equally failed to elicit extraordinary sympathy in the Home of the Brave.
Peruvian authorities arrested a suspected Hezbollah operative in the capital of Lima earlier this week on suspicion of planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets.
The man, Mohammed Amadar, a Lebanese citizen, was apprehended in the street by anti-terror police, Haaretz reported Thursday, citing the local La Republica newspaper.
A search of his apartment discovered TNT, detonators and flammable substances.
The suspect had been gathering intelligence on places frequented by Israeli hikers and on Jewish institutions. Authorities said they were questioning Amadar to learn more about his intended targets.
Ben-Dror Yemini: US has turned Netanyahu into its punching bag
The American administration is going through something bad. It failed in Iraq. It failed in Libya. It failed in Afghanistan. It tried to be nice to the Muslim world, and in response, the Muslim world is becoming much more hostile towards the United States.The redhead who wouldn't give up
But instead of engaging in self-examination, the American administration has turned Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into its punching bag.
Apparently, Netanyahu is to blame for Libya's disintegration and for the Taliban's slow takeover of Afghanistan. As far as US Secretary of State John Kerry is concerned, Netanyahu is also to blame for the Islamic State's growing number of volunteers.
The Obama administration has been trying to advance the peace process for years. Kerry tried to do exactly what Condoleezza Rice tried to do before him. She also came to Israel again and again, she also opposed the settlements, and she also failed.
Eighteen months ago, he took part in a conference on the Temple Mount that I initiated. It was held at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. Glick patiently listened to both supporters and opponents, among them former Justice Dalia Dorner, the archaeologist Dan Bahat, and Rabbi David Stav.JPost Editorial: Standing up to intimidation
Afterward, Glick described to them the present-day reality on the Temple Mount.
"I don't go up to the Temple Mount to demonstrate, but to reconnect with my Creator," he said. "The problem is that I'm denied this right. A Muslim is permitted to play soccer on the Temple Mount, to urinate there, to have a picnic there, and even to curse at me, but if I dare to whisper a prayer, I immediately become 'provocative.'"
When I joined a delegation of media people that ascended to the Temple Mount over a year ago, Glick could not hide his joy. He was hopeful that this visit would lead to a change in the way the press viewed the issue of the Temple Mount, and that it would cease to regard it as simply "a matter for lunatics."
Glick certainly did not expect to be targeted for assassination, but ironically, the attempt on his life may end up helping his cause.
Gratuitous violence is despicable under any circumstances.Yehuda Glick's condition slightly improves following assassination attempt
But when violence is used to terrorize and bully a group into abdicating basic human rights, it becomes a threat to the foundations of democracy.
On Wednesday night, Mu’taz Hijazi, a resident of Jerusalem’s Abu Tor neighborhood who is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, tried to assassinate Rabbi Yehudah Glick. This was a horrific act of violence directed at a man who was singled out for his religious and political beliefs.
What makes this crime all the more tragic was the fact that Glick, who is a vocal activist for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, is also a strong defender of Muslims’ right to freedom of religious expression on what they call Haram a-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. Unlike some proponents of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount who call to destroy Muslim houses of prayer and replace them with a rebuilt Jewish Temple, Glick advocates joint Jewish-Muslim prayers on the site that is so sacred to both religions.
Glick was in critical condition at press time. We wish him a speedy recovery.
There was a “very light improvement” in Glick’s condition by Thursday night, according to Prof. Petachia Reissman, of the hospital’s gastroenterology department.The USA Officially Promotes Anti-Jewish Apartheid
She said the 49-year-old, who holds Israeli and US citizenship and is the spokesman for the Joint Committee of Temple Organizations, remained in serious but stable condition and was still in danger. Glick remained connected to a respirator and was under a general anesthesia; this was likely to continue for a few days, Reissman, who is head of the general surgery department, said.
After the first initial complex operation on Wednesday night, in which Glick’s hemorrhaging was stopped, he underwent a procedure to clean up the wounds on Thursday morning. With improvement, he will undergo another operation or two to repair damaged internal organs, the doctor said.
The assassin’s bullets punctured one lung, entered his throat and hand, fractured some ribs and caused more significant harm to his small and large intestines. Doctors put Glick through a whole-body CT scan and were pleased that they didn’t find significant harm to his spine at the neck, or more internal damage than they had seen when he was operated on.
This shouldn't surprise us, but as part of the official reaction of the United States Government of the attempted assassination of American citizen, Yehuda Yehoshua Ben Rivka Ita Breindel Glick, may he have a refuah shleimah, complete and speedy recovery, here's the text of the United States Government:Anti-Israel Media Bias Indistinguishable from Palestinian Incitement
The continued commitment by Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians to preserve the historic status quo at this holy site is critical; any decisions or actions to change it would be both provocative and dangerous. The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount must be re-opened to Muslim worshipers...
Remember, please, that Yehuda Glick, who is now fighting for his life after being shot three times at close range, has dedicated his life to fighting for Jewish rights on Judaism's holiest spot in the world, Har Habayit, the Temple Mount.
The first news report that stood out was that of the Associated Press. Here was their lede: “A gunman on motorcycle shot a prominent hard-line Jewish activist on Wednesday, Israeli police and legislators said, seriously wounding the man and then fleeing in a suspected assassination attempt.” So that sets the tone: Jews who advocate for equal rights for Jews in the Jewish state are “hard-line.” But the media really started to lose it when the Palestinian suspect shot at Israeli police later in the evening and the police fired back, killing him. The Reuters report, by Luke Baker, was a model of crass mendacity.Who’s More ‘Far-Right,’ Yehuda Glick or the Palestinian Who Tried to Murder Him? (VIDEO)
We don’t get Yehuda Glick’s name in the Reuters piece until five paragraphs in, so until then he’s only known as “a far-right Jewish activist.” Not only is he painted as an extremist then, but Reuters doesn’t tell the reader just yet what kind of activism he was engaged in. But Reuters–famous for running photoshopped pictures of Israel at war–is just getting started. When we finally learn about Glick, we’re told the following:
"Hejazi was suspected of shooting and wounding Yehuda Glick, a far-right religious activist who has led a campaign for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa compound."
Could Baker be bothered to use the Jewish name–which obviously preceded any other name–of the Jewish holy place? Nope. It’s written that way merely to leave the impression that the Jews–again, who were there first, as everyone who isn’t an anti-Semitic propagandist knows–are interlopers and trespassers.
Yehuda Glick is most known for his campaign to allow Jews to merely pray at the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism – and envisions a future where all three monotheistic religious peacefully share the site.Under the ground is not good enough
Mu’taz Hijazi tried to kill an innocent Israeli civilian, is a convicted terrorist, and is affiliated with a violent, antisemitic extremist movement.
Which man is truly “far-right”? The campaigner for Jewish religious freedom at the Mount or the Palestinian who tried to murder him?
To those who don’t hold Palestinians to a lower standard of moral behavior than Jews – and indeed take them seriously as agents of their own fate - the answer should be obvious.
Years ago, when Ehud Barak, then-Israel's prime minister, oversaw the peace negotiations with the Palestinians, one of the proposals that was seriously debated was shared control over the Temple Mount. The idea was to divide the control by layer: The Jews would control the parts deep in the mountain, underground, and the Palestinians would control the parts above ground.If Abbas believes UN is the panacea, he's got a nasty surprise coming
This was one of the proposals that was once considered proof of Barak's genius. The kind of solution that only he could come up with. Documents were drawn up, scenarios were simulated, all kinds of experts and strategists were consulted, and after hours of deliberations everyone involved agreed that a solution had finally been found. But when they were presented with this solution, the Palestinians made it clear that they didn't want Jews anywhere, not even deep underground. As far as they are concerned, we should all just disappear, and if we find it hard to do, they are more than willing to help us evaporate.
Abbas also erred regarding obtaining Russia's support for the Palestinian appeal to the Security Council. The Palestinian leader boasts of his success in enlisting the Kremlin's support for the establishment of a Palestinian state. But over the course of the Russian involvement in Middle East diplomacy, Abbas inserted the conflict in the clash between the US and Russia, which in the last two or three years gained momentum and became more intense. Russian intervention in the international arena in an effort to advance a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will prompt an adversary reaction from Washington.‘Post’ poll finds significant drop in Israelis’ view of Obama
The best example of the futility in the cooperation between the United Nations and Russia with regard to the conflict is the fate of the Quartet. It is a body set up in 2002 in Madrid to assist the parties to discuss the issue of the conflict. It was made up of the United States, Russia, the EU and the UN. The body has not produced any benefit and left no impression. Its last meeting was held in April 2012 and it has since faded as if it never existed.
The US supports the two-state solution, and opposes Israel's settlement policy since the Reagan administration. But all administrations since then also aggressively opposed the involvement of the Security Council in efforts to formulate a solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It is one domain which the US likes to keep under its exclusive authority. It is therefore expected that the US will impose a veto on the approval of a unilateral Palestinian decision should it go up for a vote at the Security Council.
Only 16 percent of Israelis believe US President Barack Obama’s administration is more pro-Israel than pro-Palestinian, according to a Smith Research poll taken Wednesday night, exclusively for The Jerusalem Post.US Officials Say Obama May Replace Kerry
The poll of 500 respondents representing a statistical sample of the adult Israeli Jewish population was taken following a report in The Atlantic in which officials close to Obama were quoted sharply criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling him “chickenshit.”
The report resulted in a major backlash among Israelis and in criticism of Obama across the political spectrum. Smith Research has asked Israelis in 11 Jerusalem Post polls throughout Obama’s tenure whether his administration is more pro-Israel, more pro-Palestinian, or neutral, which is seen as the bellwether question of whether Israelis believe a US president is on their side.
The new poll found that 53% consider the administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, 20% called it neutral, and 11% did not express an opinion. The margin of error of the poll was 4.5 percentage points.
US President Barack Obama's administration is coping with underwhelming performance on various fronts according to officials cited in the New York Times on Friday, who suggested he may replace some senior administration officials - including US Secretary of State John Kerry.Kerry Calls 'Chickens**t' Slur 'Disgraceful and Damaging'
"There is an inflection point in every presidency, and this certainly is a logical one, if the president feels he might be better served by some replacements on his team,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the paper.
Citing the Ebola crisis in Africa that has spread to a few isolated cases in America under Obama's watch, the rise of Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists in Iraq and Syria, and tensions in Europe between Russia and Ukraine, the paper noted world events have already led Obama to make changes by bringing in Ron Klain to manage Ebola and Gen. John R. Allen to lead the coalition against ISIS.
According to the New York Times, Kerry and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel "are struggling to penetrate the tightly knit circle around the president and carve out a place in the administration."
After an unnamed senior official in US President Barack Obama's administration was quoted as calling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "chickens**t" on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry finally got around to condemning the statement Thursday.10 ‘Chickenshit’ Headlines
The insults were "disgraceful, unacceptable and damaging," according to Kerry, who spoke at a forum hosted by The Atlantic where the insults were published, reports AFP.
The US secretary of state claimed the comments did not reflect the views of US President Barack Obama or his cabinet.
A crisis in U.S.-Israel relations is no laughing matter. Yet as a headline writer, I can’t resist the temptation to have some fun with the report that an anonymous Obama administration official called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “chickenshit.” Here’s what I came up with:David Singer: Palestine Wallows With Sweden In Ikea La-La-Land
Can the U.S. and Israel make chicken salad out of chickenshit?
Israel cries fowl over ‘chickenshit’
U.S. official too chicken to attach name to ‘chickenshit’
Obama administration lays latest egg on relations with Israel
Op-ed: White House must come home to roost after ‘chickenshit’ slur
If it ain’t chickens, it’s feathers in Barack-Bibi relations
U.S.-Israel tension a chicken and egg situation, both sides allege
Experts: Bibi insult merely chicken feed in context of broader U.S-Israel crisis
Newly hatched controversy brews over Obama’s record on Israel
U.S. official must fly the coop after ‘chickenshit’ slur, Israel says
Certainly Ms Wallstrom’s assertion that the international criteria for recognition of the State of Palestine have been satisfied – are rebutted by the clear terms of Article 1 the Montevideo Convention 1934 – which expressly provide:Israel Recalls Ambassador from Sweden over Recognition of PA
“The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:
a) a permanent population;
b) a defined territory;
c) government; and
d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.”
Failure to even mention that there must be a permanent population before Sweden can possibly begin the diplomatic process of recognising the State of Palestine indicates the incredulity that Ms Wallstrom’s announcement has produced.
The fact that international law – Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter – authorises and legalises close settlement by Jews on West Bank land – including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes – while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced – seems to have passed under Sweden’s radar and that of the panel of its international law experts.
Equally as incredible is the fact that Sweden considers that the legal requirements for a State can be met in an undefined area with non-defined boundaries.
Effective control of territory is required – boundaries are not and have never been a necessary legal pre-requisite.
Israel has ordered its ambassador to Sweden to return home and has “invited” the Swedish envoy to Israel for a “talk” following Stockholm’s decision Thursday to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a country.'Sending IKEA Furniture Without Screws Doesn't Help'
Lieberman stated flat out that Sweden’s new prime minister, Stefan Löfven, “acted before he had time even to study the issue in depth.”
He said Swedish Ambassador, Carl Magnus Nesser, “will be invited for a talk at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem,” but there was no indication when that will happen.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon delivered a crushing riposte to Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's comments, as he gave an interview with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) Friday morning.IKEA To FM: Have You Ever Tried To Assemble Our Furniture? (satire)
Wallstrom had told CNN Thursday she would be “happy” to send Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman some IKEA furniture, after Liberman denounced Sweden’s decision to recognize the Palestinian Authority (PA) as "the State of Palestine," saying that, “relations in the Middle East are a lot more complex than the self-assembly furniture of IKEA."
“I think it’s a sign of a sense of humor, and I will be happy to send him a flat pack of IKEA furniture and he will also see that what you need to put that together is, first of all, a partner,” Wallstrom said in her rejoinder. “You also need to cooperate and you need a good manual."
In his interview, Nachshon directly attacked Wallstrom's points: "It's nice to send a piece of furniture from IKEA, but when it comes with a manual in an unintelligible language and is missing screws, it doesn't help."
The company, originally a Swedish enterprise but now run from the Netherlands, objected to Lieberman’s comparison, pointing out the lengths to which they go to ensure that assembling IKEA furniture is anything but simple. ”IKEA takes umbrage at Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s implication that our furniture is not complex,” IKEA spokesperson Traian Bildit announced. “He must never have tried to assemble any. IKEA has two stores in Israel, and tens of thousands of Israelis have lived the frustration that is trying to put together our pieces. One might conclude that it is not the Swedish government, but Mr. Lieberman, who is out of touch with reality.”Sweden Recognized 'Palestine' for 'Muslim Votes'
“Anyone who has tried to put together our products knows the special kind of hell that awaits them as they attempt to understand the instructions, match the hardware, and use the pesky little doodad we include as ‘the only tool you’ll ever need’ – while missing a vital screw,” he explained.
IKEA has reportedly offered to furnish the Palestinian state that the Swedish government recognized. In Gaza, the UN has ordered tens of thousands of OBSERVATOR bottle racks, which would be used to ensure building materials would be used for peaceful purposes. One excited UN official declared, “With international OBSERVATORs stationed in Gaza, there will be no need for an Israeli military, and Israel can be demilitarized.” He referred to previous UN peacekeeping successes such as the Golan Heights.
Former Israeli Ambassador to Canada Dr. Alan Baker, the head of the Legal Forum for Israel, on Friday explained to Arutz Sheva why the Swedish government officially recognized the Palestinian Authority (PA) as the "state of Palestine" on Thursday.Bennett to Sky News: Don't Sit in London and Call Us Apartheid
Baker, who previously served as legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, sent a message to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven following the declaration, explaining to him that the move opposes the 1993 Oslo Accords.
"On the one hand they encourage the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and on the other hand they establish in advance the results of the negotiations," Baker told Arutz Sheva. "According to the Oslo Accords the Palestinians don't have the status of a state."
Baker posits that the recognition is a simple political act that has no juridicial meaning whatsoever, much the same as the UK's recent non-binding vote on the same issue.
"This step puts Sweden in line with states holding a hostile approach to Israel, but it has no legal meaning. It's known that the Muslims are flooding Sweden, and the prime minister needs their support," explained Baker.
“That’s a blatant lie,” responded Bennett. “[Israel is] the only country in this area that treats its 1.5 million minority of Muslims, of Arabs, with full equal rights. They vote for our parliament. They have members of parliament. They pay taxes. They go to work. They enjoy full equal rights.”You can't preach us about apartheid when British are being killed on the streets of London (h/t Yenta Press)
“I don’t recall that in Saudi Arabia women can drive, and I do remember a few Arab states that kill gays and stone them. And I know that Syria is butchering its own people,” he continued. “So for you to suggest that Israel is an apartheid state when we’re the only place in the Middle East that provides full equal rights to citizens - that’s a blatant lie and I don’t accept that approach.”
“You should be praising Israel for being in a very tough situation,” Bennett told the interviewer. “Fighting in a world of Al-Qaeda and Hamas and ISIS now. And for you to sit in London and call us apartheid, that’s unacceptable.”
“We’re fighting your war, make no mistake. If this Islamic regime comes and flows over Israel, it’s going to hit London. In fact, it is. They killed a soldier on London’s streets. And they’re going to do that again,” warned Bennett.
Is Peace Now Leader Profiting From Opposition to Jerusalem Building?
It turns out, however, that there is a fly in the Peace Now ointment. The proposed Givat Hamatos housing development is adjacent to the southwestern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, an ancient Israelite site mentioned in the Book of Joshua. Established in 1973, it now has 40,000 (mostly Jewish) residents and is an integral part of Jerusalem. There is no plausible way for Gilo to be within Jerusalem’s borders while Givat Hamatos, as Peace Now asserts, would comprise an illegal “settlement.”Palestinian youths storm police cordon on Temple Mount
Turn about is always fair play in Israeli politics. Tzali Reshef, a co-founder of Peace Now and a one-term member of the Knesset from the Labor party a few years back, owns Ariedan Investments Ltd, which has invested in the construction in Gilo and French Hill, a neighborhood in northern Jerusalem also built after 1967. This information was disclosed by Dani Dayan, former leader of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, following his recent television debate with Reshef. Danan cited the obvious: for Reshef to invest in Gilo, while claiming that next door Givat Hamatos would be an illegal “settlement,” is more than slightly hypocritical – if profitable.
Palestinians with whom Peace Now has long curried favor would expect nothing less. Any post-1967 Israeli community, even in Jerusalem, is considered an illegal “settlement.” But settlement in the Land of Israel, whether long ago in overnight tower and stockade outposts or kibbutzim, to say nothing of Jerusalem, has always defined Zionism. Givat Hamatos is only the most recent example of a practice that is more than a century old and the dream of Jews during two millennia.
Despite the Palestinian Authority’s call for a “Day of Rage” throughout the West Bank Friday and the temporary complete closure of the al-Aqsa compound on the Temple Mount on Thursday for the first time in 14 years, the situation in the capital was overall calmer than police had feared – perhaps partly due to intermittent heavy rains in the city — and the traditional Friday noon prayers ended without much incident.Security official: Jerusalem rioting could persist for weeks, even months
“Forty-five hundred people entered [the al-Aqsa compound] to pray today,” Aharonovitch said. “The situation is quiet.”
Some sporadic violence was reported in the West Bank: rock-throwing was reported at the Qalandiya checkpoint outside Ramallah, where security forces used non-lethal means to disperse the crowds; several other altercations were reported in the Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus areas – but none were reported to have developed into serious incidents.
In Jerusalem a group of young East Jerusalem Palestinians attempted to storm a police cordon around the Temple Mount but were repelled. As police and protesters faced off on the Mount, fireworks were fired at police from nearby rooftops in the Old City; rioters also gathered in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz and pelted police with rocks. They were dispersed using riot control methods.
As police prepared Friday for possible violent disturbances in Jerusalem," a senior security official estimated that rioting in the capital could continue for several more weeks, if not months.US Urges Israel to Open Temple Mount to Muslims
The security official told Channel 10 that defense establishment estimates do not believe there is an order on high or an organized hierarchy behind recent disturbances in east Jerusalem.
While relative quiet reigned as the Temple Mount compound was reopened and Muslim worshipers engaged in Friday morning prayers a day after the holy site was closed to all visitors, security forces remained on high alert.
US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki urged Israel to reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslims, in a show of concern for prayer rights that may seem ironic to many given the lack of criticism on the Jordanian Waqf's (Islamic trust) ban on Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount - the holiest site in Judaism.Police reopen Temple Mount ahead of Friday prayers
"We're extremely concerned by escalating tensions across Jerusalem and particularly surrounding the Haram al-Sharif, Temple Mount," Psaki said. "It is actually critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount in word and in practice."
A "continued commitment by Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians to preserve the historic status quo at this holy site is critical," said Psaki, according to AFP.
The demand of "status quo" at the site where Arab riots have become a daily occurrence echoes calls for status quo by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and comes as the wave of Arab terror continues to spiral after a lethal attack in Jerusalem last week in which an Arab terrorist killed a three-year-old baby and a 22-year-old woman with his car.
Police decided Thursday evening to reopen the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to Muslims hours after ordering its closure and following Arab and US calls for Muslim worshipers to be allowed in.MK Tibi: 'Jews Have No Right To Pray on Temple Mount'
“It was decided to restore [the compound] to normal… effective immediately,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, adding that because of a fear of unrest at Friday midday prayers, entry for Muslim men would be restricted to those over 50.
There would be no restrictions on Muslim women, she said.
Non-Muslims are not allowed access on Fridays to prevent violent altercations.
Samri said the decision was subject to security developments.
As violence in Jerusalem rages on and the fear of Arab riots has placed security forces on high alert, MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List) told Channel 2 in an interview to be broadcast Friday night that "the Jews have no right to pray at the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque."Jordan Threatens to Revoke Peace Treaty Over Temple Mount
Tibi explained his words: "[allowing Jews to pray there] is a misuse of the concept of equal rights."
"Jews are not allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa because this is a place of worship for Muslims," added Tibi. "While this is a 70-dunam site, every single meter is holy to Islam."
Mohammed Al-Momani, Jordan's Minister of Media Affairs and Communications and spokesperson for the Jordanian government, said the peace treaty is "under threat" if Israel continues "breaching" the status of the Temple Mount, Arabic-language Sky News reported, as cited by Yedioth Aharonoth.Arab Rioters Vow: 'It's an Intifada, We Won't Be Stopped'
He also threatened that Jordan had put together a plan to oppose the Israeli "breaches" on the Temple Mount and eastern Jerusalem.
The Jordanian minister criticized how Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu folded to Jordanian pressure and said he would keep the discriminatory status quo of the Temple Mount, but nevertheless closed the site on Thursday.
The closure on Thursday has already led Jordan to call Israel a "terrorist state," and despite the threat of riots and violence, police folded to the international pressure from Jordan, the US and other sources and allowed limited access on Friday - for Muslims only.
This is far from the first time Jordan has threatened to revoke the peace treaty.
What is going on in the head of a young Arab rioter engaged in the "silent intifada" of terror attacks against Jews in Jerusalem? That's the question AFP apparently sought to answer in a series of interviews with Arab terrorists in the capital city.Gazans arrested sneaking into Israel to seek work
Hisham, a fourteen-year-old rioter born around the start of the Second Intifada, "dreams of a new uprising" according to the news source. Ironically, it has been noted Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently echoed calls for that 2000 intifada by encouraging terror using the Temple Mount as a trigger.
"All the young people go in and out of prison on a regular basis," revealed Hisham, speaking about the rampant lawlessness and violence permeating the Arab population of Jerusalem. There are roughly 230,000 Arabs in the eastern part of Jerusalem, and around 200,000 Jews.
Hisham recently was recently in jail for a week, his first and likely not last arrest, for his part in the violent riots attacking police in the capital.
But jail time is not enough to stop the Arab rioters, AFP found.
The men crossed near Kibbutz Alumim in the Sdot Negev Regional Council area.Two Arabs Nabbed Right Before Light Rail Ambush
IDF forces rushed to the site to intercept the men, believing them to be potential terrorists targeting the nearby kibbutz.
But an initial interrogation led the IDF to believe they had attempted the dangerous crossing in search of work in Israel.
Two Arabs, both aged 22 and residents of Jerusalem's Shuafat neighborhood, were arrested late Thursday night after they were identified by police and Border Patrol forces lurking between the light rail stations of Beit Hanina and Shuafat, carrying slingshots and stones.
Additional police and border forces had recently been stationed in the area to help eradicate the widespread violence in Jerusalem that has been labeled a "silent intifada."
The police approached the two men, who began to flee. After a footchase through the alleys of Shuafat, the Arabs entered one of the houses, in an attempt to hide. The police came into the building and arrested the two men.
