In the case of the Palestinian rioting on the Temple Mount, there has been no Israeli instigation of any kind. Contrary to Palestinian claims:
- There is no construction, renovation or archaeological activities taking place underneath the Temple Mount or al-Aqsa Mosque that could in any way endanger its foundations.
Israel has nothing to hide and even took journalists on a tour of the Western Wall tunnels to show that this is indeed the case. According to chief engineer, Ofer Cohen, "There's been a lot of talk about instability [based on ongoing archeological excavations in the area], and let me reassure you, we have improved the structural stability here tenfold over the last few years and have actually strengthened areas where there was danger of further collapse."
- There was no attempt by any Jewish groups to enter the Temple Mount compound to pray or confront Muslims at prayer.
Instead, during the High Holidays, a group of non-Jewish French tourists were pelted with rocks when entering the compound (as is their right to do so under existing arrangements for visitors). Israeli police intervened to protect those tourists.
As reported by Ha'aretz, "It's true those were French tourists," said a Fatah activist this week, in a belated acknowledgment on the Temple Mount incident that sparked riots earlier this month. But he immediately played dumb: "But how could we have known?"
The Guardian, however, simply reports:
Palestinians, however, have been increasingly concerned about right-wing Jewish settlers entering the compound and about rumours - denied by Israel - of excavations near the site.
The Times, meanwhile, recycles an old myth:
It was clashes outside the al-Aqsa mosque that sparked the second intifada - a widespread violent uprising by Palestinians. The origins of that event are traced to Ariel Sharon's provocative September 2000 visit to the compound.
This, despite the evidence to the contrary as stated by members of the Palestinian leadership themselves:
Whoever thinks that the Intifada broke out because of the despised Sharon's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is wrong.. . . This Intifada was planned in advance, ever since President Arafat's return from the Camp David negotiations, where he turned the table upside down on President Clinton. (Palestinian Communications Minister Imad Al-Faluji, Al-Safir, 3 March 2001. Translated by MEMRI)
where the two Jewish temples of antiquity are believed to have been built.
"Believed"? There is no question (other than in the minds of those deliberately seeking to delegitimize Jewish rights and history in Jerusalem) that Jewish temples stood on that site. Period. So why does the Daily Telegraph feel the need to use such language?
In general, the media has been content to present the story in simplistic terms - the Israeli "Goliath" versus the Palestinian "David". A bit more digging and sophisticated analysis would reveal that the situation is much more complex as the leader of Israel's extremist Islamic Movement, in collaboration with Hamas, seeks to use the Temple Mount issue to create violence and instability. The situation is also part of a continuing fight between Hamas and Fatah over control of eastern Jerusalem.
Can the media not look at the bigger picture?
Please send your considered comments to:
- The Guardian - letters@guardian.co.uk
- The Times - letters@thetimes.co.uk
- The Daily Telegraph - dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Remember to include an address and daytime telephone number.
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