Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
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The Temple Mount Is Not in Our Hands
Commentary by Roni Shaked, "Yediot Ahronot", Shabbat Supplement, Aug 13,
1999, p.20
Israel's sealing a window on the Temple Mount this week did not conclude
the power struggles over the most disputed site in the Middle East. As
Israel attempts to flex its muscles, the Palestinians are increasing their
control over the Temple Mount which is already looking like part of
Arafat's autonomous zone.
A small window, broken through and resealed with lightning speed,
threatened to ignite Jerusalem this week. A number of elements and
circumstances meant that in the end the dynamite that is the Temple Mount
was not set off, but merely remains primed for the next dispute.
From each side of the window, the two sides see things differently: The
Palestinians consider the Temple Mount as their territory, on which they
must constantly work to strengthen their hold. Israel, in contrast, is
making efforts to prove that the slogan "The Temple Mount is in our hands"
remains in effect in the political reality of 1999. When Prime Minister
Barak decided last Monday to act quickly and decisively, he remembered his
election campaign, which was based on the slogan "Barak will not divide
Jerusalem."
His decision to close up the window, opened up by the Moslems in the
"Lower Al-aqsa Mosque", was out of the ordinary: It is three years since
the political echelon issued any order connected to Israeli control and
sovereignty on the Mount. Barak took the advice of Supreme Court Judge
Eliezer Goldberg from two years ago, who ruled that "With regard to issues
related to the Temple Mount, the legal solution must yield its place to
solutions based on political considerations. The political echelon, not
the courts, must give content and meaning to the cry "the Temple Mount is
in our hands."
A Miniature Israeli Flag
Even though the window has been sealed, the struggle over sovereignty
remains open and the Palestinians, in truth, have all the reasons to be
satisfied: The Jordanians put up the money, Israel is responsible for
security but real control is in Palestinian hands.
Today, 32 years after IDF forces liberated east Jerusalem, the symbol of
Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount is a tiny Israeli flag, measuring
15 x 10 cm, found on the table of Israeli police commander. The flag was
placed on the table after drawn-out negotiations on its precise placing
and size, following riots on the Temple Mount ten years ago. The Police
commander on the Temple Mount, who is also responsible for the Western
Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is officially known as the
"Commander of the Unit for the Holy Places."
The feeling that the Palestinians controlled the Temple Mount increased
during the Intifada. The mosques were a focus for incitement and
demonstrations; Hamas cells turned the mosque courtyards into a meeting
point for terror groups; funds and instructions were passed on from
commanders to activists in the mosques, the Temple Mount has become a
central Palestinian national site for hosting respected guests from
abroad, and Feisal Husseini, for example, has moved some of his meetings
from Orient House to the Temple Mount area.
The Turning-point: The Tunnel Events
Three years ago marked the turning point. The opening of the Western Wall
tunnel by Israel in September 1996 and the bloody events that followed,
forced the Netanyahu government to quietly agree to the construction of a
mosque in Solomon's Stables. Since then, the situation on the Temple Mount
has been similar to that in Area B on the West Bank: Palestinian civil
control, Israeli security control.
The victory following the construction of the mosque in Solomon's Stables
strengthened the Moslem feeling that the Temple Mount was to all intents
and purposes in their hands, and led to a breakdown in contacts with the
relevant Israeli bodies government ministries, the Jerusalem
Municipality and the Antiquities Authority.
As in the areas under Israeli security control in the PA area, so too
Border Police and police patrols on the Temple Mount take place mainly for
security reasons, rather than to demonstrate sovereignty. For their part,
the Palestinian organizations send their members to perform police and
security duties during periods of tension.
"The police station on the Temple Mount can enforce the law in the event
of disorder, but on the big issues - those which require the enforcement
of Israeli sovereignty on the Mount the police cannot do a thing
without permission from the political echelon. Such permission has not
been given in the last three years," say senior police figures.
Civilian control is handled for the Palestinians by the Waqf
administration, which treats the area as its own. Formally the Waqf is
answerable to the Jordanian government, which pays its employees' salaries
and operational expenses. In practice, the Palestinian Authority controls
the Mount. The Palestinian Mufti, Sheikh Akrameh Sabri, was appointed by
Arafat.
Sheikh Sabri has recently moved his offices to the Mount. The Netanyahu
government objected, claiming that this represented a violation of the
Oslo Accords, which forbid PA activity in Jerusalem, but Sabri continues
to carry out his activities on the Temple Mount, and now it is Ehud Barak
who must deal with the problem.
No Entry for Inspectors
On the basis of the breakdown of the status quo due to the tunnel events
three years ago, the Muslims began to energetically pursue the repair of
the "Lower Al-Aqsa." The new balance of power forced the government of
Israel to ignore the building, and watch with clenched teeth as hundreds
of volunteers from the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement worked to realize
Moslem control of the Temple Mount.
The Lower Al-Aqsa mosque, which can be used by up to 500 worshippers, is
situated on 1000 square meters of ground in the south western corner of
the Temple Mount, beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the days of the second
Temple, this was one of the main entrances to the temple. The construction
was carried out without any request for permission being made, in complete
disregard to building codes and is causing archaeological damage. But as
the Moslem workers broke down walls, cleared out dust from knolls and
built a new pavement, the Waqf prevented the entrance of inspectors from
the Antiquities Authority to the area. "We enter any area in the State of
Israel without restriction; the only place where this does not apply is
the Temple Mount", says Amir Drori, Director-General of the Antiquities
Authority angrily.
This week, even after the window in the "Lower Al-Aqsa" was re-sealed, the
Palestinians continue to be firm in its stance: Muslim construction on the
Temple Mount does not depend on the authority of Israel. "We are not
asking for, and will not ask for Israeli permission, license or agreement
for construction" says Adnan Husseini, the Director-General of the Waqf.
"At the end of the day, Israel does not control the Temple Mount."