Israel’s protection of Palestinians is a ‘crime,’ says the PA

Any Israeli decision that affects land it claims is Muslim-owned property is an “illegal” order.

By Ahron Shapiro, Palestinian Media Watch

According to the Palestinian Authority, Israel is acting criminally when it closes Muslim holy sites to protect against needless loss of life from Iranian missile attacks during the Iran war.

This is even though Israel is applying the safety regulation uniformly across the country, prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people at holy sites of all religions—something that PA officials and media refuse to disclose to their people.

As Palestinian Media Watch reported last week, this is an especially hypocritical accusation, since the PA police have also issued guidelines restricting large gatherings.

The tens of thousands of worshippers that typically visit Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan would certainly qualify as a prohibited “large gathering” even according to the PA regulations.

But for the PA, it doesn’t matter—because any Israeli decision that affects land it claims is Muslim-owned property is an “illegal” order.

This has now been stated quite clearly by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash:

This libel is expressed repeatedly by PA officials and, since the start of the Iran war, has become a daily talking point on official PA media:

The PA’s denial of Israel’s rights at Judaism’s holy sites follows its historical revisionism and repeated denial that the Western Wall and Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs are Jewish holy sites of historic and religious significance:

Judaism’s holiest site—the Temple Mount—is also disenfranchised from its central place in Jewish history and religious texts.

Before the Iran war broke out, the PA’s official newspaper attacked Jews who visited the site as “colonialist invaders.”

The Jews’ prayers were maligned as “provocative,” “Talmudic ceremonies,” and a “dangerous escalation.”

The event was called a “blatant provocation to the sensibilities of… the entire world”:

That Jews, no less than Muslims, are barred from visiting the Temple Mount, Western Wall, and Cave of the Patriarchs during the Iran war is clearly information that the PA would prefer to hide from Palestinians and the world.