The Shin Bet erred
On Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin had a polite request. Speaking with Channel 2's Yonit Levi, he pleaded with his allies on the Right to stop using the Temple Mount as a political prop, explaining that some on the Palestinian side were willing to seize any opportunity to perpetrate more attacks. The legislative maneuvers to change the status quo at the holy sites, coupled with the high-profile visits to the area, have played into the hands of Palestinian extremists.
Rivlin, who remained presidential throughout his interview, would like all sides to abide by the rules set by then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967 following the Six-Day War. He is right. There is no better way to govern the area between Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which stands atop the ruins of our ancient Temple.
Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen should have not come out with a statement absolving Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of incitement. This was bad timing, considering the critical juncture we are in. Cohen may be technically correct. Abbas has not come out in favor of violence against Israel, and that counts for a lot when the Palestinian street is simmering with tension. But Abbas has shirked his duty to extinguish the flames.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Amman the other day, he pledged, in Hebrew and in English, that things were going to remain the same. But Abbas could not be bothered; he has stayed the course, reiterating the populist mantra that Israel has a malicious intent that could threaten Al-Aqsa. Abbas' rhetoric seems to be pure politics, as if he is competing in some party primaries in Ramallah. Has Abbas been oblivious to the scorn and contempt that Netanyahu has generated among his fellow Likud MKs when he vetoed their various proposals to change the status quo-
It would be unwise for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon to pretend as if there was no daylight between them and Cohen. Cohen provided a professional assessment -- and he did it well -- when he cleared Abbas of incitement. But he used a broad brush, having ignored the fact that Abbas' actions are place-dependent. Abbas has come out against violence in Judea and Samaria, and even issued a condemnation after the Har Nof massacre, but when it comes to Al-Aqsa, Abbas has made a conscious effort to ignore the truth and dismiss Israel's pledges, ducking the pressure to make a strong and unequivocal statement against the Palestinian rock-throwing provocateurs who want to trigger widespread violence.
Perhaps Rivlin was trying to tell us that Jerusalem has become, de facto if not de jure, a binational city. There is no turning back, the president said. These are the cards that we have been dealt and we better get used to it, he noted. Levi did not ask Rivlin how Israel should react when the ethnic strife in Jerusalem turns into a national phenomenon. The answer may depend, in part, on how successful the Border Police will be in restoring calm to the capital.
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