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Palestinian President Abbas has contributed to the recent anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish violence by making repeated claims that Israel was seeking to change the status of the Western Wall and Temple Mount. Such claims have even sowed some concerns within the U.S. Department of State.
From The Jerusalem Post:
Abbas claims that Netanyahu seeks to change status quo arrangements on the holy site, where non-Muslims are not allowed to formally pray.
Netanyahu has repeatedly called that accusation a "gross" and "dangerous lie."
US State Department unclear on Israeli intentions for Temple Mount - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post
The reality is actually the opposite. Arab states have been seeking to change the status of the Temple Mount and have made a formal proposal to do so. From The New York Times:
The head of the U.N. cultural agency says she "deplores" a proposal under discussion by UNESCO's executive board that she says "could be seen to alter the status of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls" and incite further tensions.
The board is due to vote Tuesday on a resolution submitted by Arab countries that recognizes the Western Wall as a Muslim holy site.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...ast/ap-ml-israel-palestinians-the-latest.html
Regardless of UNESCO's vote, Israel should retain the status quo, as it has committed itself to do. UNESCO lacks the capacity to enforce any politicized decree that would change the status of the Western Wall/Temple Mount.
In the bigger picture, one finds yet another case of the Palestinian President acting in a fashion that is incompatible to advancing peace. Just as he falsely and publicly claimed that a young Palestinian attacker was dead (he was alive in an Israeli hospital), he accused Israel of seeking changes to the status quo for the Western Wall/Temple Mount, even as Arab states had formally moved to change the status quo. In the end, among other things, the Palestinian President is not trustworthy and that's an attribute that further undermines the potential for diplomacy. Diplomacy cannot advance in the absence of trust and President Abbas' recent conduct leaves little basis for trust.
From The Jerusalem Post:
Abbas claims that Netanyahu seeks to change status quo arrangements on the holy site, where non-Muslims are not allowed to formally pray.
Netanyahu has repeatedly called that accusation a "gross" and "dangerous lie."
US State Department unclear on Israeli intentions for Temple Mount - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post
The reality is actually the opposite. Arab states have been seeking to change the status of the Temple Mount and have made a formal proposal to do so. From The New York Times:
The head of the U.N. cultural agency says she "deplores" a proposal under discussion by UNESCO's executive board that she says "could be seen to alter the status of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls" and incite further tensions.
The board is due to vote Tuesday on a resolution submitted by Arab countries that recognizes the Western Wall as a Muslim holy site.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...ast/ap-ml-israel-palestinians-the-latest.html
Regardless of UNESCO's vote, Israel should retain the status quo, as it has committed itself to do. UNESCO lacks the capacity to enforce any politicized decree that would change the status of the Western Wall/Temple Mount.
In the bigger picture, one finds yet another case of the Palestinian President acting in a fashion that is incompatible to advancing peace. Just as he falsely and publicly claimed that a young Palestinian attacker was dead (he was alive in an Israeli hospital), he accused Israel of seeking changes to the status quo for the Western Wall/Temple Mount, even as Arab states had formally moved to change the status quo. In the end, among other things, the Palestinian President is not trustworthy and that's an attribute that further undermines the potential for diplomacy. Diplomacy cannot advance in the absence of trust and President Abbas' recent conduct leaves little basis for trust.
