Israel Playing With Fire Again

It seems that Israel is not willing to learn from experiences of the past, and is insisting on instigating conflicts, arousing Arab and Muslim feelings by attacking the holy shrines in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Although the second Palestinian Intifida, which broke out in 2000 because of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's entry to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which was seen as an insult and offense to Muslim feelings, Israel has once again decided to play with fire. It is carrying out a dig next to one of the Mosque’s entrances in Jerusalem, which according to the Waqf Department will cause the demolition of two rooms of the Mosque, in addition to weakening its foundations.

The excavation work, which is being carried out by the Israeli Government in response to insinuations of Jewish extremists, is an outrageously provocative action that is bound to trigger Islamic uproar across the globe, not merely in the Palestinian Territories, as the act is directed at the first of the two Qiblas and Islam’s third holiest place. Past experiences show that any such actions in Palestine and the world against holy shrines lead to reactions that could be difficult to control and whose adverse consequences would be hard to predict at all levels. Hence, Israel's determination to go ahead with its dig, which threatens the demolition of the Al-Aqsa mosque, and its non-compliance with the warnings issued from across the Islamic world means that it had decided to trigger the first spark for a major destructive fire whose scale would be unpredictable.

It is important that concerned international authorities and forces pressure Israel and prevent it from continuing its provocative actions that are hurting the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world. It should stop quashing all hopes of peace with the Palestinians and Arabs, because acting to the detriment of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line which if breached may cause bloodshed and rage throughout the region. It is equally important that the Islamic world take a strong stand that goes beyond issuing statements of condemnation and denunciation, in order to send across a clear and unified message to Israel that attacking the Aqsa Mosque would ruin all chances of peace in the Middle East as well as all hopes of coexistence. Indeed, such acts provide considerable support to extremism, conflict, and violence and reverse trends toward moderation and peace, which call for dialogue and understanding.

Akhbar Al-Sa'ah