A Muslim terrorist plowed into pedestrians at a light rail station between East and West Jerusalem on November 07, killing a policeman and a 17-year-old Jewish student, and wounding others. Thousands of East Jerusalem residents participated in a symbolic funeral for the driver, who was killed by police, carrying signs calling him a “hero” and urging Palestinians to “Keep on killing [Jewish] soldiers.”
Other violent attacks followed, including rocks and molotov cocktails hurled at security forces around the boarder area of East and West Jerusalem. Rock throwing and firebombs were also reported near the West Bank.
Violence, focused on the Temple Mount, has been going on in Jerusalem for weeks. On October 29, A Muslim employee of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center shot an activist Rabbi promoting Jewish temple prayer rights outside the center in an attempted assassination. Also, heavy clashes between police and Arab residents of East Jerusalem persisted. Arab youths threw rocks and firecrackers at security forces who responded with tear gas, percussion grenades and rubber bullets. Also, rocks thrown by unknown attackers damaged six cars and a bus in another section of the city.
The Arabs say the violence is because of restrictions the Israeli’s have placed on Muslim worshippers. Israelis say the restrictions were in response to reports of potential violence by youths attending the mosque. Arabs are afraid that the Prime Minister is going to “change the status quo of the Temple Mount and allow Jews to pray there.” Jews are allowed in the compound, but are barred from religious worship or prayer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that no change is planned.”
Netanyahu called for a widespread operation to root out violence in Jerusalem. A day after the van attack at the light rail station, the second in as many weeks, Netanyahu ordered the homes of the terrorists destroyed. He also called an emergency session to discuss the clashes in Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount is under the custodianship of Jordan as part of the 1994 peace accord. Jordan has complained to the United Nations about the Israeli actions. It also recalled its ambassador, and threatened to reevaluate the peace treaty with Israel. Israel can ill afford to alienate Jordan, one of its few allies in the region. For its part, Jordan has little choice but to condemn Israel because it has to maintain political stability of its own.
“There are pyromaniacs in the government and in the Knesset,” said Ahmad Tibi, an Arab-Israeli MK to the European Parliament. Tibi was invited to the EU Parliament to discuss current tensions. He blamed Israel and Netanyahu for the volatility and urged the EU Parliament to issue sanctions against Israel.
The tension in Jerusalem could easily boil over in all out war threatening to draw nations into the conflict from far outside of the Middle East.
And there shall be wars and rumors of wars… Matthew 24:6.