Incident On The Mount
Making It Worse
Arafat plays the religion card in effort to drum up Arab support.
On July 29, Jews
pass by a sign reading
"The Temple Mount is
ours" on their way to
the Western Wall for
prayers marking Tisha
b'Av, commemorating
the destruction of the
Jewish temples in
Jerusalem's Old City.
DAVID LANDAU
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jerusalem
p
alestinian Authority leader
Yasser Arafat is making
Jerusalem the focus of
intensified terror in order
to accentuate the religious dimension
of the 10-month-old violence with
Israel.
This was the accusation leveled at
Arafat this week by top Israeli gov-
ernment analysts following a spate of
attacks — shootings, bombings, stab-
bings and rioting — that have
brought a new level of fear to
Jerusalem residents.
The analysts believe Arafat's
immediate aim is to use the "reli-
gion card" in order to convene yet
another Arab summit meeting.
Though several meetings of the
Arab world's leadership since the
Palestinian uprising began failed to
result in significant economic aid
for the Palestinian Authority, Arafat
8/3
2001
20
hopes that focusing on the religious
overtones of the conflict with Israel
will convince the Arab League to
provide tangible economic support,
according to this view.
This week, violence continued at
some of the highest levels since the
Palestinians began their violent upris-
ing last September.
Erupting across the West Bank and
Gaza Strip and in Jerusalem, the vio-
lence threw into sharp relief just how
thoroughly the U.S.-mediated cease-
fire, which Israel and the Palestinian
Authority agreed to just six weeks
ago, has failed.
Some might argue — as the
Palestinians contend — that the vio-
lence makes the need for internation-
al peacekeepers in the region more
necessary than ever. In practice, how-
ever, it appeared less likely that such
monitors would arrive any time
soon.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
insisted that he would not discuss
the composition of an observer force
with Washington until a real cease-
fire takes hold. Arafat reiterated his
demand — rejected by Israel — that
such a force include other countries
than just the United States.
If Arafat's latest goal is to cast the con-
flict in a religious mold, then events
Sunday dealt him something of a set-
back, as Israeli security officials did
not fall into his trap.
After days of belligerent statements
from Palestinian and Israeli Arab lead-
ers had stoked their passions,
Palestinians on the Temple Mount
rained rocks down on Jewish wor-
shipers marking Tisha b'Av on Sunday
at the Western Wall.
Israeli police subsequently entered
the Temple Mount compound, firing
tear gas and stun grenades in skirmish-
es with dozens of Palestinians. The
disturbances forced the evacuation of
Jewish worshipers from the Western
Wall Plaza, and 15 policemen and 20
Palestinians were hurt.
Just the same, the police action did
not lead to any Palestinian deaths —
something Arafat could have milked
for propaganda value in Arab capitals.
The incident contrasted with the
panicky deployment of Israeli police
on the Temple Mount the morning of
Sept. 29, 2000, the day after then-
opposition leader Ariel Sharon paid a
high-profile visit to the site.
Then police responded to the
Palestinians' stones with bullets. The
figures are still in dispute, but as
many as seven Palestinians died that
day. It marked the beginning of the
Palestinians' now 10-month-old
intifada (uprising).
Israeli security officials said
Palestinian officials and Israeli Arab
legislators were responsible for inciting
Siinday's violence because they over-
stated the threat posed by the Temple
Mount Faithful, a small Jewish ultra-
nationalist group.
As they do every Tisha b'Av, when
Jews around the world mourn the
destruction of the First and Second
Temples in Jerusalem, the Faithful had
sought permission to visit the Temple
Mount for a symbolic cornerstone-lay-
ing ceremony for the Third Temple.
As in previous years, the High Court
of Justice refused their request.
Instead, the group was forced to hold
the ceremony outside the Old City
Historic Footnote
Jerusalem
When United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson visited Hebron last November, her convoy was shot at,
and Yasser Arafat immediately blamed militant Jewish settlers. Ms. Robinson, a former president of Ireland, acquiesced.
The U.N. didn't leave it at that, however. It sent the bullet that hit a U.N. car for forensic tests in Denmark. This week,
the Danes reported that it had been fired by an AK-47 Kalashnikov, as used by the Palestinians but not Israelis. They also
concluded that the shot came from an area under Palestinian control. Justice delayed, but justice all the same.
— Eric Silver, Israel correspondent