Palestinians Threaten Another Intifada

An Israeli group calling themselves Revava is planning a mass prayer session at Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We can argue the merits of this action; whether it’s a point that needs to be made, or just needlessly provocative. But I don’t think it’s debatable that the Palestinian response to Revava’s plan is sheer racist apartheid insanity: Jewish protest at Al-Aqsa mosque would unleash violence: Palestinians.

“We are warning the Zionists against any such stupidity ... which would be seen as a declaration of war without possibility of truce or calming down,” the groups said in a joint statement. Signatories included the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees.

The sentiment was forcefully echoed in a separate statement by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. “Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque are a red line that no Zionist should be able to cross,” it said. The warnings were issued after the ultra-nationalist Jewish group Revava announced plans to organize a 10,000-strong prayer session at the disputed compound, which housed the Jewish temple until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Considered as the most sacred spot in Judaism, the compound is also the third-holiest site in Islam. Thousands of Israeli police were deployed in and around the Old City during Muslim Friday prayers for fear that mass protests would erupt. But the prayers passed without incident, with some 10,000 worshippers attending a firey sermon by the mosque’s top cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein.

“Muslims, both in this country and around the world, will not allow anyone to attack their faith or to pollute their mosque,” he told the congregation, saying the mosque was an “exclusively Muslim shrine”. “The occupation authorities will bear the responsibility for the consequences of any attack on the mosque by settlers or Jewish extremists,” he said, calling on Israel to “permanently” deny extremists access to the compound. Note how the AFP story mutates into a description of an “attack on the mosque” and “a violation of Al-Aqsa.” We’re talking about a prayer session at Judaism’s holiest site.

Story Credits: Yahoo News and Little green Footballs