Tension Escalates Between Israel and Palestine

Palestine sees Israeli actions as “declaration of war”

Amid growing tension in the Arab world, Israel prevented access to a sacred site in the Old City on Thursday, Oct. 30. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, was closed after an Israeli counterterrorism unit killed a Palestinian man suspected of attempting to assassinate Yehuda Glick, an American-born Israeli rabbi calling for increased Jewish access to the site.

Glick is a political activist whose campaigns for expanded Jewish control and access to the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary have elicited criticism from Palestinian officials. He was shot in the chest four times on Oct. 29, after delivering a speech at the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre in Jerusalem. He is currently in serious, but stable condition.

The site is considered the holiest place in Judaism, and contains the al-Aqsa Mosque – the third holiest place in Islam.

A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called the closure a “declaration of war.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm, implying that Abbas was responsible for the increased tension.

“We’re facing a wave of incitement by radical Islamic elements as well as by the Palestinian Authority chairman…who said that Jews must absolutely be prevented from going on to the Temple Mount,” said Netanyahu in a statement to Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper.

Entrances to the holy site in Jerusalem were reopened on Friday, Oct. 31, but authorities said that Muslim men under 50 would not be allowed to pray. Israeli police officers were also out in force, attempting to maintain a delicate peace.

In the past few months, Israel has added 1,000 police officers in an effort to prevent a third Palestinian uprising.

The holy site is not just an important place of worship for Jews and Muslims; Jordan’s king – Abdullah II – is the site’s custodian, and Israel’s actions have incited a reaction from the Hashemite Kingdom as well.

“Jordanians feel the latest actions taken by Israel are directed against Jordan this time, not only against Palestinians,” said Jawad Anani, a former Jordanian foreign minister, and former deputy prime minister. “His Majesty [King Abdullah II] is reflecting the anger domestically.”

“If anything happens to al-Aksa under his guardianship, there will be huge consequences inside and outside of Jordan, so there’s a lot of pressure.”

Though Israel has frequently closed the site to both Jews and Muslims on certain days, last Thursday’s shutdown was the first since 1967, when Israel seized the Temple Mount, along with the rest of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

This news also came at a time when the Swedish government officially recognized an autonomous state of Palestine. On Oct. 30, the Swedish government became the first member of the European Union to officially recognize Palestine as a sovereign nation.

Though Sweden’s actions are unrelated to the political turmoil in Israel, the actions of Sweden’s newest Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, have elicited criticism from Israeli officials during this turbulent time.

“The Swedish government must understand that relations in the Middle East are more complex than one of Ikea’s flat-pack pieces of furniture, and would do well to act with greater sensitivity and responsibility,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a statement on Thursday, Oct. 30.

As a result of Prime Minister Lofven’s statements, Israel has recalled its ambassador to Sweden back to Jerusalem.