Author: Author1

The events around the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians, largely reflect the completely different ways the two sides view the reality around the mount, particularly Israel’s actions there. That disparity stems from different perceptual frameworks.

In the Israeli perceptual framework, Israel is a state that seeks stability and is committed to the status quo on the Temple Mount, to the freedom of worship for all religions in Jerusalem, and to maintaining public order. However, the status quo is challenged by extremist groups from both sides, and Israel is taking the necessary measures to prevent them from undermining stability, including using reasonable force. It is thereby exercising its sovereignty and the responsibility entailed by it.

However, many Palestinians, along with many Israeli Arabs and Muslims worldwide, plus international actors mainly on the Left, see the existence of the nation-state of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel as lacking all justification. In their view, Israel’s presence in east Jerusalem is illegal, and Israel as a state, and not just the marginal messianic groups within it, seeks to alter the status quo on the Temple Mount.

“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.” … Psalm 2:1-3

This is not a worldview unique to radical political Islam, spearheaded by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Palestinian Authority is convinced that this Israeli threat to the Al Aqsa compound reflects the actual state of affairs, along with Jordan and many other actors in the Arab and Islamic world. 

Read More @ Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs HERE