Israel Matzav

Jordan to control Temple Mount?

London-based Arabic daily al-Quds al-Arabi is reporting today that Israel and the 'Palestinians' have agreed that Jordan will be given control of the Temple Mount and that some 90,000 'Palestinians' in 'East Jerusalem' will be given Jordanian citizenship:

According to the report, it is also likely that a supreme supervisory commission will be established, which will include representatives from the UN, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

When Israel and Jordan signed a peace deal in 1994, it was agreed that Israel would honor the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom over the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem and in a final Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, Israel would give high importance to Jordan's historic role over the holy sites.

Israel Radio reported that Jordan had recently set up a new fund for the renovation of Al Aksa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. The head of the fund even proposed that Jordan give Jordanian passports to some 90,000 east Jerusalem residents.

Meanwhile, Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Israel Radio that the question of who will have custody of Jerusalem's holy sites must not be discussed at the moment. "We must decide that in that area there will be a special body which we will discuss in the future," he said.

Meanwhile Ramon, who is a convicted sex offender, is still pursuing his plan to ensure that much of Jerusalem - particularly areas that are populated by ultra-Orthodox Jews - will come under 'Palestinian' fire in the future:

Also Monday, in an interview with Army Radio, Ramon said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition would support his plan to give the Palestinians several east Jerusalem neighborhoods in exchange for territory in the West Bank.

Ramon said that even Israel Beiteinu would back such a concession, as would the Labor Party.

"There are two central parties that agree to this," Ramon said. "The most important thing is to preserve the Jewish and democratic state of Israel."

...

On Sunday, Ramon hinted that his Jerusalem plan, announced last month, would be on the negotiating table at the November Middle East peace conference in Annapolis.

Ramon's associates said afterwards that he had merely stated his own positions that he has favored for many years. They said his views had become mainstream and were even adopted by Israel Beiteinu.

According to the plan, Israel would not transfer control of the Old City and neighborhoods around it to the Palestinians, Ramon said in the Monday interview.

Yisrael Beteinu's Avigdor Lieberman came out with a statement yesterday that is sure to displease his mostly right-wing voters:

In Sunday's cabinet meeting, Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman surprised many by agreeing that Israel should cede control of certain areas of Jerusalem, while strengthening its control of areas such as the Old City and Mount Scopus.

Lieberman told Israel Radio on Monday that his party supported swapping refugee camps in the Jerusalem area with West Bank settlement blocks.

Some of you may recall that I reported this from Guy Bechor's web site six weeks ago:

It is definitively known that in the last few days, Israel has delivered at least one draft of a dramatic "Agreement of Principles" to Abu Mazen, pursuant to which a Palestinian state will be created based upon the June 1967 borders alongside a "Jewish state." The Palestinian state will be demilitarized and will include 6250 square kilometers, which is equal to the area of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. But there will be some border adjustments, such that most of the settlements will be dismantled and what remains will be concentrated in narrow, secure areas, and in return the Palestinians will receive alternative land in Israel. I do not know what this alternative land is. A passageway will be constructed between Judea and Samaria and Gaza, whose nature is not yet clear, that will be under Israeli sovereignty and Palestinian management.

Israel is ready to divide Jerusalem, with the Arab neighborhoods being under Palestinian control, and the Jewish neighborhoods under Israeli control, except that there is a mention of some sort of "religious" sovereignty that is not yet clear to me over the Holy places. Each side will recognize the other side's religious needs in Jerusalem.

The subject of refugees is not mentioned at all in the draft, and this is the most difficult point of contention between Israel and the Palestinians. Abu Mazen is not yielding on the matter, and is demanding the refugees' return at least in principle.

Abu Mazen and his advisers reviewed the Israeli draft and they are not pleased (Of course. They know how to conduct negotiations. One should never open with one's final position as Israel does). Before knowing the details, Abu Mazen announced that he is opposed to the idea of a declaration of principles, as there was in Oslo, because in his opinion, experience has shown that its use to the Palestinians is only verbal. Two days ago, in a telephone interview with Palestinian television, Abu Mazen said that the declaration of principles is a "waste of time" and that it is "useless." What the Palestinian side wants now is a clear framework of actions with clear dates: to establish a state, for Israel to withdraw, for the settlements to be dismantled and for the refugees' return.

They know that the closer November and the international conference get, the more pressure there will be on Israel.

Sounds like he called it pretty well, doesn't it?

Now, why do I accuse Ramon (and Olmert) of trying to endanger Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox population? For starters, because a majority of the Jews in Jerusalem are ultra-Orthodox. With the possible exception of Ramat Beit HaKerem and Ein Karem, there are ultra-Orthodox residents in nearly every quarter of the city. But the largest concentrations of ultra-Orthodox Jews are in the city's northern neighborhoods: Ramot, Ramat Eshkol (yes, large parts of it are mostly ultra-Orthodox today), Sanhedria Murchevet, Ramat Shlomo, and Neve Yaakov all have large ultra-Orthodox populations and are within easy shooting range (not even rocket range) of one or more Arab neighborhoods like Shuafat, Beit Ikhsa, Beit Hanina and the Shuafat 'refugee camp.' Beit Ikhsa is also not that far away from Givat Shaul and Har Nof - while it would be hard to aim a rocket, they could certainly be used for harassment value.

Then there's the Old City. Ramon says not to give the 'Palestinians' control of villages around the Old City (which is also largely ultra-Orthodox today). But the 'Palestinians' wanted to put their 'capitol' in El-Azariya. That's easy shooting range to the Mount of Olives, one of Jerusalem's two cemeteries. And presumably, Ramon would try to wipe out the Jewish housing in Silwan, right outside the Old City and on the Mount of Olives.

Then there are Arab neighborhoods like Wadi Joz and Sheikh Jarrach that are in easy shooting distance of the ultra-Orthodox areas of Shmuel HaNavi and Meah Shearim, and that would presumably be handed over to the 'Palestinians.'

Do I need to go on?

As the sailors said to Jonah during the storm: Arise and call out to your God, maybe he will come and save us. No one else will.

Update 1:10 PM

Olmert is denying the Temple Mount report - which probably means it's true. Olmert claims that no agreement has been reached.

The report drew strong criticism form the right-wing.

MK Uri Ariel (NU/NRP) said: "If the report is true, the Israeli government has stripped itself of any linkage to Zionism or its Jewish roots."

"The Olmert government is trying to destroy the dreams of thousands of generations who have dreamed and worked to return the Jewish people to its land, continued Ariel, vowing: "we wont let him succeed."

Ariel's party colleague MK Aryeh Eldad said that if Israel willingly gives up sovereignty of the Temple Mount to a foreign power "it will lose its moral, historical, legal and religious justification for existence."

"This is post Zionist, nonsensical and suicide," he said.

MK Tzi Hendel (NU/NRP) said: "I warned long ago that Olmert would divide Jerusalem, and now it is clear that even the Temple Mount, which is the heart and soul of the Jewish people, is going for cheap."

Shas chairman Eli Yishai said that "whoever thinks he has the authority to give up Jerusalem is wrong. The obligation to keep Jerusalem is solid, not a political gust of wind."

But does this mean that Yishai and his Shas party - who are in the government - will give up their cabinet seats and patronage opportunities and leave the coalition? Don't hold your breath.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:15 AM