Palestinians Riot on Temple Mount and the UN Provides Them Cover

The phony Palestinian “state” will be honored at the United Nations with the raising of its flag outside of UN headquarters alongside the flags of 193 genuine member states. The president of this pretender to statehood, Mahmoud Abbas, proved once again that he is not interested in negotiating a peaceful two-state solution. In the midst of the latest riots by Palestinians aimed at Jews seeking to visit the Temple Mount during the holiest period of the Jewish calendar and at Israeli security personnel assigned to keep the peace, he declared “Al-Aksa is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet.”

Abbas is laying claim not only to the mosque that was built on the ruins of two Jewish temples. He is also declaring that his “state” owns one of the holiest of Christian sites. He then incited more violence by praising the Palestinian thugs who actually did desecrate Al-Aksa by using the mosque as a base from which to hurl stones, launch explosives and fire gunshots. “Each drop of blood that was spilled in Jerusalem is pure blood as long as it’s for the sake of Allah. Every shahid (martyr) will be in heaven and every wounded person will be rewarded, by Allah’s will,” Abbas declared. The violence that Abbas so lavishly praised led to the murder of an Israeli citizen, Alexander Lebelovitch. Hamas and Islamic Jihad added more fuel to the fire when they called for a “day of rage” against Israel. The UN Security Council issued a pro-Palestinian statement on September 17th regarding the tense situation. It referred to the compound area revered by Muslims, Jews and Christians alike only by its Arabic name, Haram Al-Sharif. The first priority for the members of the Security Council, according to their statement, was to underscore “that Muslim worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif must be allowed to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations.” (Emphasis added)

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The Palestinian thugs whom have been using Al-Aska as a sanctuary from which to launch their attacks are the source of the violence, threats and provocations, egged on by their president. Non-Muslim visitors have every right to stand in reverence on the same compound as Muslims without fear of being killed or maimed. Israeli security has a duty to protect them. But the Security Council worries primarily about “Muslim worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif.” As Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor said in his response to the Security Council statement:

“This statement, which only uses the Arabic name for the Temple Mount, affirms the right of Muslims to be present an to pray at the compound, but completely ignores the Palestinian violence, the deep connection of the Jewish People to the Temple Mount, and the right of all to visit the site. Instead of calming tensions, the Council sides with those who are trying to set the region on fire. When the Palestinians set the Temple Mount ablaze, Mahmoud Abbas fuels the fire, and the Security Council fans the flames, it is a recipe for a regional explosion.”

Ambassador Prosor is concluding his service as Israel’s UN ambassador. His moral clarity, calm demeanor and wit will be sorely missed.