The right decision
If everyone involved in the eternal conflict over the Temple Mount was on board with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's latest initiative, the current wave of Palestinian terrorism would come to an immediate halt. Hitherto, the essence of the status quo on the mount has been to allow only Muslim prayer and visitation rights to Jews and Christians without prayer, not even just moving lips. Everyone swore by this arrangement. Israel never offered more or asked for more.
Most of Israel's religious/ultra-Orthodox public does not permit or encourage visiting the Temple Mount. In recent weeks, I was surprised by the sheer number of national religious individuals who volunteered to explain to me why it is forbidden to go there. I received lessons in history and in religious law, and I was told that the Third Temple must not be built by enterprising individuals but should rather be a collective effort on behalf of the entire public, with divine guidance if possible.
On Saturday, Kerry praised a proposal to install round-the-clock video surveillance on every corner of the Temple Mount compound. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right to accept this proposal. In fact, he should have suggested it first. Perhaps it is more palatable to the Palestinians when whispered in Arabic to an English speaker.
The surveillance cameras will clearly demonstrate who violates the rules and who betrays the trust and who remains in the mosques in the dark of night plotting to throw stones at visitors the following morning. They will also reveal which Jews go back on their promise not to pray.
Jordan, which holds the senior status on the Temple Mount, made the proposal. Palestinian official Saeb Erekat tacked a belligerent declaration onto Kerry's optimistic announcement, but Erekat does not have the final say. Now we must wait for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' decision, though he has not yet responded.
It is particularly important to monitor the response of the Islamic Movement in Israel, which feeds off Hamas and Palestinian radicals in the West Bank. It is true that Israeli authorities have managed to impose a relative calm on the Temple Mount over the last week, but the question remains whether permanent calm can be achieved through mutual understanding rather than use of police force.
In order for Kerry's initiative to really work, the rival sides need to agree on a wide range of shared interests, and really mean it. Israel also needs to prepare an extensive contingency public diplomacy campaign in the event that the Palestinian Authority and/or the Islamic Movement decide to sabotage the calm.
But the biggest challenge is not the PA or the Islamic Movement -- the current wave of knife attack terrorism has been fueled mainly by online incitement, orchestrated by Hamas and possibly even Iran.
Yesterday, I examined a photo of a young candy vendor who ditched a box of candy, pulled out a knife and lunged at a Jewish security guard, ready to slit his throat. The vendor was killed in an act of self-defense. I wondered whether decisions made by people like King Abdullah of Jordan and Abbas or even Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah affected this man in the least. There is no way to know.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו