Taking advantage of chaos, turbulence and political violence in much of the Arab world, Israel is quietly upping the ante at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, one of Islam's most sacred shrines. Some Jewish religious authorities believe the 1400-year old mosque is built on the site of an ancient Jewish temple, a claim rejected by Muslims as well as many historians and archaeologists. Decades of aggressive excavation by Israeli archaeologists failed to produce any solid evidence proving the ancient Jewish temple stood where Al-Aqsa Mosque stands today. In the past few weeks, Israel has significantly tightened its already vice-like grip on the Islamic sanctuary, allowing millenarian Jewish fanatics to hold Talmudic rituals at Al-Aqsa esplanade while violently repressing Muslim worshippers trying to put up a semblance of resistance to Jewish provocations. “Israel is simply trying to quietly seize Al-Aqsa Mosque from our hands, taking advantage of the turbulent and tumultuous situation in the Arab world,” said Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, the highest-ranking Muslim Waqf (Religious Endowments) official in Jerusalem. Looking exceptionally sombre, Hussein described the situation as “very, very serious”. “Israel is paying no attention whatsoever to the entire Muslim world and seems convinced the Arab world is in no position to challenge Israel regardless of what the Jewish state chooses to do,” he added. Another Muslim dignitary, Ikrema Sabri, said Al-Aqsa Mosque was facing a very grave and tangible danger. “Al-Aqsa Mosque is very much like a helpless orphan, abandoned by everyone, including family and relatives. It is time Muslims everywhere did something to save the mosque from immanent usurpation by Jewish fanatics. If we compromise this place or fail to uphold our responsibilities and duties, we might as well compromise Islam itself. I say this because the mosque is part of the religion itself.” The former mufti of Jerusalem has said: “Defending and protecting Al-Aqsa Mosque is the responsibility of every Muslim under the sun.” Do the Arabs have clout over Israel? Israel has diplomatic ties and peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and so presumably should pay attention to the possible repercussions of provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the current Israeli leadership, headed by Binyamin Netanyahu, seems to have calculated that serious reactions from both Cairo and Amman would be unlikely, given the chronic weakness of the Jordanian regime and the desire for stability on the part of Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's regime. According to the Israeli media, Israel's main concern is the chance that a “cardinal provocation” at Al-Aqsa Mosque could trigger a third Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, which even the Palestinian Authority (PA) would be unable to suppress. Earlier this week, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict was having a radicalising effect on Arab-Muslim societies. Observers in the Middle East contend a serious Israeli miscalculation at Al-Aqsa Mosque could have serious destabilising effects on pro-Western Arab states such as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Dividing the mosque: This week, a bill was submitted to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, to give Jews “sufficient time and space” to hold their Talmudic rituals at the exclusively Islamic sanctuary. The bill also outlaws Palestinian protests against the Israeli measures, proposing sentencing “lawbreakers” to lengthy jail sentences and imposing hefty monetary fines. Israeli authorities are already banishing Jerusalemite Arabs from Al-Aqsa Mosque or putting them under house arrest. Last week, Israel banned the entry of Palestinians under the age of 60 to the mosque. The measure followed severe clashes between crack Israeli soldiers and Muslim worshippers. Israeli troops used excessive force against the unarmed worshipers, eyewitnesses reported. The recurrent clashes were triggered by the entry into the mosque compound of messianic Jews calling for the destruction of the 1400-year old Muslim sanctuary and the construction on its site of a Jewish temple. Elsewhere in Jerusalem, Jewish settlers backed by government circles on Sunday seized two three-storey buildings in Silwan neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. Messianic Jews believe the building of a huge temple in Jerusalem would herald apocalyptic events, including the appearance of a Jewish Messiah or redeemer as well as the beginning of the so-called Messianic Age whereby Jews would rule the entire world from Jerusalem. Palestinian officials have warned that Israeli provocations could spark off a religious war. “Israel is transforming the region into a powder keg,” read a statement released by the PA Ministry of Information on 20 October. The statement called Israeli measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque “the perfect prescription for triggering a huge conflagration in the region and the world.” Netanyahu is likely to see in the possible eruption of a Palestinian uprising over the Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), the third holiest Islamic mosque, the perfect excuse to evade the already moribund peace process. Netanyahu, a master of prevarication, has repeatedly refused to freeze the building of Jewish colonies in the Palestinian West Bank. Seeking a comfortable distraction from his stonewalling, Netanyahu has been trying to lump the Palestinian resistance group Hamas with the much-demonised IS (Islamic State). However, Netanyahu's efforts seem to have failed to attract acolytes, even in the US, Israel's guardian ally. One high-ranking PA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Nothing will stop Israel's apocalyptic adventurism at Al-Aqsa Mosque short of the threatened abrogation of the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and Jordan. The respective governments in Cairo and Amman have issued low-level condemnations of Israeli provocations at Al-Aqsa.
