by Khaled Abu Toameh November 3, 2015
For the full article go to: http://tinyurl.comk
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The
Palestinian Authority (PA) will continue to work against having cameras in the
hope of preventing the world from seeing what is really happening at the site
and undermining Jordan's "custodianship" over Islamic holy sites in
Jerusalem.
§
Another
reason the Palestinians oppose King Abdullah's idea is their fear that cameras
would expose that Palestinians have been smuggling stones, firebombs and pipe
bombs into the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the past two years.
§
The
cameras are also likely to refute the claim that Jews are "violently
invading" Al-Aqsa Mosque and holding prayers on the Temple Mount. The
cameras will show that Jews do not enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Palestinians have
been claiming. Needless to say, no Jewish visitors have been caught trying to
smuggle weapons into the holy site.
§
It
remains to be seen how Secretary Kerry, who brokered the camera deal between
Israel and Jordan, will react to the latest Palestinian Authority escalation of
tensions. If Kerry fails to pressure the PA to stop its incitement and attempts
to exclude the Jordanians from playing any positive role, the current wave of
knife attacks against Jews will continue.
Why is the Palestinian Authority (PA) opposed to
Jordan's proposal to install surveillance cameras at Jerusalem's Haram
al-Sharif (Temple Mount), sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews?
This is the question that many in Jordan have been
asking in light of the recent agreement between Israel and Jordan that was
reached under the auspices of US Secretary of State John Kerry. The idea was
first raised by Jordan's King Abdullah in a bid to ease tensions at the holy
site in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Shortly after Israel accepted the idea, the Palestinian
Authority rushed to denounce
it as a "new trap." PA Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki and other
officials in Ramallah expressed concern that Israel would use the cameras to
"arrest Palestinians under the pretext of incitement."
During the past two years, the Palestinian Authority
and other parties, including Hamas and the Islamic Movement (Northern Branch)
in Israel, have been waging a campaign of incitement against Jewish visits to
the Haram al-Sharif. The campaign claimed that Jews were planning to destroy
Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In an attempt to prevent Jews from entering the
approximately 37-acre (150,000 m2) site, the Palestinian Authority
and the Islamic Movement
in Israel hired scores of Muslim men and women to harass the Jewish
visitors and the police officers escorting them. The men are referred to as Murabitoun,
while the women are called Murabitat
(defenders or guardians of the faith).
These men and women have since been filmed shouting and trying
to assault Jews
and policemen at the Haram al-Sharif. This type of video evidence is something
that the Palestinian Authority is trying to avoid. The PA, together with the
Islamic Movement, wants the men and women to continue harassing the Jews under
the pretext of "defending" the Al-Aqsa Mosque from
"destruction" and "contamination."
The installation of surveillance cameras at the site
will expose the aggressive behavior of the Murabitoun and Murabitat,
and show the world who is really "desecrating" the Islamic holy sites
and turning them into a base for assaulting and abusing Jewish visitors and
policemen.
The cameras are also likely to refute the claim that
Jews are "violently invading" Al-Aqsa Mosque and holding prayers at
the Temple Mount. The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and the Islamic Movement
have long been describing the Jewish visits as a "provocative and violent
incursion" into Al-Aqsa Mosque. But now the cameras will show that Jews do
not enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the Palestinians have been claiming.
Another reason the Palestinians are opposed to King
Abdullah's idea is their fear that the cameras would expose that Palestinians
have been smuggling stones, firebombs and pipe bombs
into Al-Aqsa Mosque for the past two years. These are scenes at the PA, Hamas
and the Islamic Movement do not want the world to see: they show who is really
"contaminating" the Haram al-Sharif. Needless to say, no Jewish
visitors have thus far been caught trying to smuggle such weapons into the holy
site.
Palestinian Arab young
men with masks, inside Al-Aqsa Mosque (some wearing shoes), stockpile rocks to
use for throwing at Jews who visit the Temple Mount, September 27, 2015.
By rejecting the idea of setting up 24-hour
surveillance cameras at the Haram al-Sharif, the Palestinian Authority has
found itself on a course of collision with Jordan. Jordanian politicians and
columnists have voiced outrage over the stance of the PA, and have dubbed it
harmful to Palestinian and Islamic interests.
The Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad, which is close
to the government, quoted Jordanian politicians as denouncing the
opposition of the Palestinian Authority to the cameras as
"inappropriate, clumsy, tasteless and unfair."
Sources in Ramallah explained this week that the PA's
opposition to cameras should also be seen in the context of the power struggle
between the Palestinians and Jordan over control of the Islamic holy sites in
Jerusalem. The Jordanians have long been seeking to preserve their status as
"custodians" of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic holy sites in
Jerusalem. This is a status that some Palestinians and the Islamic Movement in
Israel have been trying to change during the past two decades, especially after
the signing of the Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel in 1993.
The Palestinian Authority's opposition to the
installation of cameras is seen as an attempt to undermine Jordan's status at
the Islamic holy sites. Many Palestinians argue that they, and not the
Jordanians, should be in charge of the Haram al-Sharif. Members of the PA are
opposed to the cameras because it is a Jordanian proposal and reinforces
Jordan's role at the holy site.
As such, the Palestinian Authority's position could be
seen as an attempt to change the status quo at the holy site by driving the
Jordanians out of the area. King Abdullah is obviously aware of the Palestinian
attempt to prevent him from playing any role at the holy site; that is why he
was quick to reach a deal with Israel about the installation of cameras.
The
PA, meanwhile, will continue to work against having cameras in the hope of
preventing the world from seeing what is really happening at the site and
undermining Jordan's "custodianship" over Islamic holy sites in
Jerusalem.
It now remains to be seen how Secretary Kerry, who
brokered the camera deal between Israel and Jordan, will react, if at all, to
the latest Palestinian Authority attempt to continue escalating tensions at the
holy site. If Kerry fails to pressure the PA to stop its incitement and
repeated attempts to exclude the Jordanians from playing any positive role at
the Haram al-Sharif, the current wave of knife attacks against Jews will
continue.
Video of the week; Palestinian
activist: Anti-Israel BDS is "bulls***"
http://tinyurl.com/qxcsv7h
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