Hitting a Wall
Arutz Sheva is reporting that the PA are demanding the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Second Temple and, as such, the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people.
PA negotiator Adnan Husseini, a senior advisor the PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said the PA now accepts the Taba agreement that Arafat turned down six years ago, according to Voice of Israel government radio.
However, he rejected Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall as well as the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Givat Ze’ev and Ma’aleh Adumim.
Husseini said Thursday night that the Western Wall “is part of Islamic heritage that cannot be given up, and it must be under Muslim control.” He also insisted that the entire Old City belongs to the Muslims.
Abbas earlier had agreed that a land swap would allow Israel to retain sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall in the Old City.
Just for the record, the Western Wall is not part of Islamic heritage. Sure, there have been attempts to rewrite history, with an Islamic cleric recently claiming the Western Wall is where Mohammed tied his donkey noble winged steed before ascending into heaven. But the fact is, Muslims face Mecca when praying (with their backs to Jerusalem) – even those praying on the Temple Mount itself. And Jerusalem is mentioned a staggering zero times in the Quran. In contrast, Jews praying anywhere in the world face towards the Temple Mount, with Jerusalem’s well-being a central theme of our prayers. And I’ll also point out that Jerusalem is mentioned over 650 times in the Torah.
As someone on Fark put it, what’s Arabic for chutzpah?
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About the Author: An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.
In the early times of Islam the direction (qibla” for prayer was copied – or “burrowed” from the Jewish communities. It lasted only for a short time when it was changed again, to face the Kaaba in Mecca. Also, Jerusalem is not mentioned in the quran. Anly later Muslim clerics associated “the distant shrine” (al-quds) with Yerushalayim. The Muslim interest in this place is a fairly recent one.
I don’t think you’ll find Jerusalem mentioned very many times in the Torah – there’s a few allusions like “Ir Shelem”and “Hamakom” and so on. Perhaps you meant in Tanach.
Why isn’t Israel putting shared control of the Temple Mount on the table? Why should the Palestinians presently be in control of such an important Jewish site?
The Palestinians are not being asked to give up anything. This is (as usual) a one way negotiation.
I do not mind discussions and negotiations with the PA. However, Olmert is not the one to be doing this. We need a tough guy to negotiate, not a wimp.
Stan
Stan, I don’t see room to negotiate with people who want to annihilate us and have written charters to back up their intentions.
The Arabs have to be fought and defeated, with Israel dictating the terms of surrender. Everything else is futile.
I can state with confidence that “Islam” is the Arabic word for chutzpah.