by Dr. Reuven Berko
The demonstrators demanded and even accepted the restoration of the status quo, but they are now "hung over" after their "victory" in a reality where Israel continues to be sovereign.
The Islamic activists
who systematically harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, and the
mercenaries who rioted on the Temple Mount and in Jerusalem's streets,
rejoiced at the removal of the metal detectors. One of them said, "This
is the Muslims' first victory in Jerusalem since Saladin," referring to
the sultan who captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187. With their
reaction, the "victors" have made a mountain out of a molehill.
The installation of the
metal detectors was an immediate tactical response to the murder of two
border policemen at the hands of terrorists from Umm al-Fahm. The aim
of the measure was to protect Al-Aqsa mosque from itself. The
Palestinian demand that they be removed was a declaration of intent to
use Al-Aqsa as a weapon and as an arena of future terrorist attacks,
with all the consequences that implies. As a possible alternative,
Israel may want to consider moving the security fence to the west of Umm
al-Fahm and installing the metal detectors at the entrance to the city.
In interviews with the
media, Muslim Waqf officials in Jerusalem were euphoric and
self-congratulatory. Jordan's trustees attributed the agreement to the
Hashemite kingdom. Former Grand Mufti Sheikh Ekrima Sabri and his ilk in
the Palestinian Authority claimed it was a dispute over sovereignty
with implications for Islam, Arabs and Palestinians, and that it was the
independent religious authority and the masses in Jerusalem, along with
the influence of the Palestinian Authority, that ultimately delivered
the "victory." As they told it, Jordan was merely a spectator.
However, bit by bit,
doubts are cropping up about the resolution of the conflict. A sense is
creeping in that this was nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory for the
Palestinians. The demonstrators themselves demanded and even accepted
the restoration of the status quo, but they are now "hung over" after
their "victory" in a reality where Israel continues to be sovereign.
Did Israel really
remove the metal detectors out of fear of the sheikhs or the protesters
and rioters they incited? Israel did not give an inch in the face of two
violent intifadas, so the answer is no. In the battle for the fate of
Jerusalem, the metal detectors are nothing more than a tactical episode
within a larger strategic move, comparable to a commander's decision to
change the location of their tanks.
The status quo in
Jerusalem is comparable to the Arab proverb "Do you want to eat the
grapes or fight the guard?" The proverb, meaning don't make too big a
deal out of things, is founded on the understanding that if a leader
wants his subjects to follow his command, he must ask for things that
are possible and realistic. As the pragmatic caliph Muawiyah I once
said, "There is a hair between me and my people. If they pull, I let go,
and if they let go, I pull."
Israel reevaluated the
balance of power, agreed to Jordan's request, nullified the Palestinian
Authority's illusions in Jerusalem, and thwarted radical Islam's plans
to direct regional chaos at Israel. The Arab states, and even the
Palestinian Authority, recognized the Islamist attempt to set in motion a
wave of insurrection against them with the claim "Al-Aqsa is in
danger." Indeed, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Islamic Movement
leader Sheikh Raed Salah called for a mass revolt against the "passive"
Arab regimes in the name of Al-Aqsa.
The ambitions of an
"Islamic caliphate" were recently illustrated in an image distributed on
social media networks that featured an iconic image of then-Chief of
Staff Yitzhak Rabin, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and Jerusalem
Commander Uzi Narkis walking through the Lions' Gate in Jerusalem's Old
City, only the figures were replaced with Turkish President Recep Tayyin
Erdogan "the conqueror," Salah and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
Muhammad Hussein. After the Nakba and the Naksa (Palestinian mourning
over the establishment of the State of Israel and the capture of east
Jerusalem), the Islamists, the Arab MKs, the Arab Higher Monitoring
Committee and the like are trying to turn Al-Aqsa into the source of the
next Palestinian disaster and, again, expendable ammunition in the
hands of others.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=19561
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Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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