Speaking of Israel and Palestine, there seems to be a growing concern that the Israeli government may do something to change the legal status of al-Aqsa:
On Monday, chunks of rock still peppered the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site. Volunteers worked to remove shards of glass and metal, but parts of the crimson and gold carpet were charred by stun grenades hurled into the holy site by Israeli forces, who also fired rubber-coated metal bullets at Muslim worshippers.
Clashes broke out Sunday when soldiers cleared the way for Israelis, including a cabinet minister, to visit the Al-Aqsa compound on Tisha B’Av, a Jewish holiday marking the destruction of two Biblical temples.
This has become a reoccurring scene, with ominous implications, which has ignited Palestinian fears of an Israeli takeover of the holy esplanade. Jews call the esplanade the Temple Mount and consider it their holiest site, and Muslims refer to it as the Noble Sanctuary or al-Haram al-Sharif.
Hamas has reportedly called for a “Day of Rage” on Friday in response to Sunday’s violence, and members of Israel’s Arab Joint List Party have accused the government of fomenting religious violence on the site.
If there’s some imminent pending change to the holy site’s legal status, the Israelis have done a pretty good job keeping it secret. Still, over the past decade, give or take, the Jordanian-Palestinian endowment that controls the site has been losing control over the site, so it’s understandable why they might be concerned:
But the Waqf and others say the real shift began after the second Intifada, following a visit by Ariel Sharon, Israel’s opposition leader back then, to the Noble Sanctuary.
Samar Nimer, a Jerusalemite who works on ancient manuscript restoration, said the frequency of clashes has increased since September 2000. At the Al-Aqsa Mosque, she points to a glass display case that contains spent tear gas canisters and bullet casings dating back to that time. “It’s the same scene repeating itself,” the 27-year-old said.
“The Palestinian youth barricade themselves inside the mosque and the soldiers shoot tear gas inside. Now, in what’s become more frequent on Jewish holidays, Muslims – even Waqf employees – are prevented from entering Al-Aqsa. Meanwhile, the Moroccan Gate is open for settlers and extremists, provoking Muslims’ feelings.”
There’s obviously a compelling religious liberty argument to allowing Jews, Muslims, and whomever else to have unfettered access to the site so long as no group infringes on the activities of the others, but it’s dwarfed by all the many, many ways in which the Palestinians’ other basic human rights are being violated on a daily basis. Interfering with Muslim control over the site would not only be an extraordinarily bad idea from the standpoint of preventing violence there, but in a sane world the ability for Jews to visit the site and even worship there should be included in a peace deal that finally recognizes Palestinian rights. For the Israeli government to just force the issue would simply be inflicting yet another gross indignity on a people that has already endured far too many of those at Israeli hands.
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