Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
They express the views of the authors.
This Will Not Be "The Tunnel 2"
(Analysis by Ronni Shaked, "Yediot Ahronot", Aug 11, 1999, p. A9)
At the moment, Yasser Arafat has no interest in producing a major
explosion.
Sealing the opening onto the Temple Mount did not drag the Palestinian
street into protest demonstrations or violent acts such as those that
occurred after the opening of the Western Wall tunnel three years ago.
Several condemnations were heard here and there, mainly by Waqf officials
and the Mufti, but nothing more than that.
The main reason for this is that the police sealed the opening from the
outer side of the wall, and not from within the Temple Mount. This action
did not hurt the status quo, according to which control on the Temple
Mount itself is in the hands of the Waqf, and the territory outside the
Mount is under full Israeli authority. One does not need much imagination
to guess what would have occurred had the police forces entered the mosque
in order seal the hole.
An additional reason for the muted response is the fact that sealing did
not affect a holy place, did not bother anyone and did not obstruct either
prayer services or entry onto the Temple Mount. No less important is that
the opening is far from view: almost nobody knows the place, and someone
watching from afar can make it out only with great difficulty.
Another key reason for the quiet in the way the affair was concluded was
the Prime Minister's modus operandi: an immediate decision to seal the
opening and its immediate implementation by the police. The quick response
astounded the Palestinians. They understood that, this time, they are
dealing with a different Prime Minister. Despite all the praise that the
Prime Minister deserves for the way he acted, it is very possible that the
events could have turned out differently if they had happened in a
different atmosphere of encouragement of settlements and political
stalemate, which was the prevailling atmosphere in September 1996 during
the Western Wall tunnel incident.
The Palestinians understand that there is a new government now, with which
it would be worthwhile to maintain balanced relations. Arafat also knows
that if were to create a crisis now, he would not enjoy international
support, especially not from the United States, a fact which is only
liable to increase his isolation in the struggle against Israel.