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Abbas continues to praise “defenders of al-Aqsa”

[ssba]

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said that he would “strengthen the hand” of those “defending the al-Aqsa Mosque” on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, while at the same time insisting that he is against violence.

Abbas has been heavily criticised by Israeli leaders for incendiary rhetoric, which they say has helped to incite violence, especially regarding the Temple Mount. Holy to both Jews and Muslims, it has been an emotive focal point for violence during the past few weeks. Abbas’s comments include a slur that Israelis defile the Temple Mount with “filthy feet.”

However, given this week’s sharp spike in violence, Abbas has at times adopted a more conciliatory tone. He told Haaretz on Wednesday that although he supports a “popular, non-violent struggle,” he opposes “all violence and use of weapons.” Yesterday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the violence partly on “wild lies” from the PA over the Temple Mount. However, Netanyahu also noted a possible change in Abbas’s recent tone, which he said would be welcomed as would cooperation with the PA.

Abbas continued to give mixed signals yesterday. Although he stated, “We will not use violence or force. We believe in peace and in a peaceful popular struggle, and that is our right,” he also said, “We are strengthening the hands of our brothers who are defending the al-Aqsa Mosque.” Palestinian youths have routinely barricaded themselves inside the mosque in recent weeks, hurling firebombs and rocks at Israeli forces. He also warned the Israeli government to “stay away from the holy places of Islam and Christianity.”

Meanwhile, fellow Palestinian leaders affiliated to Abbas appeared to explicitly endorse and encourage violence. Fatah Central Committee Member Jamal Muhaisen said this week that, “The settlers’ presence is illegal, and therefore every measure taken against them is legitimate and legal.” PLO Executive Committee member Mahmoud Ismail told PA television that the murder of an Israeli couple driving their children last week in the West Bank, had been a “national duty.”