Comments (0)Arab Violence Resumes on Temple Mount
October 26, 2009Jerusalem
JTA Wire Service
Arab rioters attacked Israeli police officers with stones, firebombs and oil on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Three police offers were injured Sunday morning during the attack, which began shortly after the mosques on the mount opened for prayers. A second round of rioting began later in the morning.
Officers stormed the mount carrying glass shields for protection, but did not enter the mosques. About 100 rioters remain holed up in the Al-Aksa Mosque.
At least 15 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
Following the attacks, police closed the Temple Mount to Muslim worshipers and to tourists. Prayers continued at the Western Wall, where police presence has been increased.
The violence comes after repeated calls Saturday by Muslim leaders appealing to Arabs to come protect Jerusalem and the Temple Mount from “Jewish conquest.” Police had announced Saturday that they would increase police forces and patrols in the area based on the Muslim incitement.
Rumors have circulated throughout the Palestinian and Muslim community that far-right-wing Jews plan to take over the site, which is holy to Jews and Muslims. The rumors have proven to be unfounded.
“Israel is provoking a billion Muslims around the world who will not hesitate to protect the Temple Mount with their own bodies,” Arab-Israeli lawmaker Talab Al-Sana told Ha’aretz. “Israeli police initiate avoidable riots that will end in bloodshed when they enable extremists to desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The violence also spread to eastern Jerusalem, including the neighborhood of Ras al-Amud, where masked Palestinians threw stones and other objects at Israeli security forces.
Netanyahu: Israel is Investigating Gaza War
Israel already has investigated some accusations included in the Goldstone report “because we are a democratic country,” Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister said in an interview with the Washington Post that Israel is looking into an independent inquiry not because of Goldstone, “but because of our own internal needs.”
“We’ve had 26 allegations investigated. Not because of the U.N. decision but because this is our procedure,” Netanyahu told the Post. “We’ve investigated people for wrong behavior. We’ve put people on trial in the past because we’re a functioning democracy. We’ll do it in this case, too. But what the Goldstone report actually accuses Israel of is deliberately targeting civilians, which is patently false.”
Following the publication of the interview, the Prime Minister’s Office put out a clarification of Netanyahu’s remarks regarding the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into Operation Cast Lead.
“The flow of the interview makes it clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu intended to say that Israel is already examining the events according to existing internal procedures, not that it is ‘considering’ investigating the course of events themselves by other means,” it said.
In the interview, Netanyahu called for changing the international laws of war to adapt to global terrorism.
“The best way to defuse this issue is to speak the truth because Israel was defending itself with just means against an unjust attack,” he said. “Serious countries have to think about adapting the laws of war in the age of terrorism and guerrilla warfare. If the terrorists believe they have a license to kill by choosing to kill from behind civilian lines, that’s what they’ll do again and again. What exactly is Israel supposed to do?”
Netanyahu also told the Post that the cessation of uranium enrichment should be the goal of any deal struck between Iran and Western world powers. He called Iran’s nuclear aspirations a “global issue” and sidestepped a question about whether Israel is planning an attack on Iran.
Netanyahu also made it clear where his government stands on the issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
“If I had to sum it up, I’d say that the beginning of the peace negotiations should be without preconditions and the outcome of the negotiations should be a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state,” he said.
Israeli Soldiers Dismissed for Swearing-In Protest
Two Israeli soldiers who disrupted their swearing-in ceremony to protest the potential removal of West Bank settlements were expelled from their unit.
The two soldiers from the Kfir infantry brigade were sentenced Sunday to 20 days in a military prison and will not be permitted to serve as combat soldiers.
The men waved signs with statements like “We did not enlist in order to evacuate Jews” at a parade at the Western Wall prayer plaza to celebrate the end of basic training, according to reports. Another sign vowed not to help evacuate the West Bank settlement of Homesh.
“This was a disgraceful disciplinary aberration that will be addressed,” a military spokesman said in a statement last Friday. “The Kfir commander will, furthermore, consider whether these soldiers will continue to serve in the brigade.”
An unnamed brother of one of the protesters said it was clear that the soldiers would be serving in the West Bank, where “they are going to take on the settlers” as a freeze and the prospect of dismantling illegal outposts looms.
“And everyone knows what the damage of that is, both on the personal and the ideological levels,” he told Army Radio.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.