BICOM

The shooting last night of Temple Mount campaigner Rabbi Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem came after Palestinian leaders persistently alleged that Israel would change the status quo at the site and numerous threats against Glick himself.

The Temple Mount has been a regular flashpoint for violence between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces. It is the holiest site in the world for Jews, being where the Jewish Temple was located, and today is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque. However, having captured Jerusalem’s Old City during the 1967 Six Day War, Israel placed administration of the Temple Mount under the joint authority of the Jordanian government and the Jerusalem-based Islamic Waqf religious council. Since then, Jews have been permitted to visit the site in small numbers, but are banned from praying at the Temple Mount for fear that it would provoke a violent response.

Despite campaigning by Glick and others for greater Jewish access to the site, Israel’s government has repeatedly insisted it has no intention of altering the status quo. Yet, two weeks ago, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said that “settlers” should be barred from the complex “using any means,” and called on Palestinians to prevent Jews from “desecrating the Temple Mount.” Abbas’s comments prompted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accuse Abbas of inciting violence. On Monday, PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited the Temple Mount and continued Abbas’s theme, accusing Israel of “violations in Jerusalem,” adding, “Jerusalem is a red line, and so is the al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Yesterday, the United Nations (UN) Security Council held a debate on Israeli construction in Jerusalem at Jordan’s request. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor commented, “You don’t have to be Catholic to visit the Vatican. You don’t have to be Jewish to visit the Western Wall. But the Palestinians would like to see the day when the Temple Mount is only open to Muslims.”

Meanwhile, Channel Two reported that Glick himself had reported threats to his life to the police on five occasions. Jewish Home MK Eli Ben-Dahan re-posted social media threats which had been made against Glick. Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says there were reports of celebratory fireworks in the Old City at the news of Glick’s shooting.