Israel’s UN envoy shows who’s to blame for Temple Mount riots

“As you saw, the only ones, the only ones, violating the status quo on the Temple Mount are the Palestinian terror groups inflaming the holy sites.”

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan addressed the Security Council Monday during a meeting on the Middle East, which focused on the situation in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

Following the Council’s refusal to let Ambassador Erdan present videos from the Temple Mount during his remarks, the ambassador held a media stakeout before the meeting in which he described what is taking place on the Temple Mount to the international media.

The videos, which showed Palestinians attacking Jews and police with stones, firecrackers, and fireworks, proved beyond any doubt that Palestinian extremists are solely responsible for the violence on the Temple Mount, Erdan’s spokesperson said.

Erdan also sent letters to the Security Council members and the Israeli Mission distributed footage proving what happened on the Temple Mount and in the Al-Aqsa Mosque so there would not be claims that members had not had an opportunity to see what had taken place.

In his speech, Erdan criticized the Council for wasting its time dealing with Palestinian lies and for some members’ adoption of the “false Hamas and Islamic Jihad narrative blaming Israel.” He made clear that the adoption of this narrative encourages terror organizations to continue expanding their attacks on Israel, as has been evident in recent days with rockets fired from Gaza and a rocket fired from Lebanon, his spokesperson said.

Erdan pointedly asked why the Council and the United Nations have not immediately condemned these rockets, the spokesperson added.

During the media stakeout,  Erdan said, “All of the events on the Temple Mount have been captured on camera. Photos and video footage showing exactly who is to blame for the chaos and violence are accessible to all, yet when I requested to show this footage to the members of the Council at the debate, I was sadly denied…If I can’t share the footage with the Council, I will share a short video with you all here as I am sure that you will all spread the truth on your platforms.”

After showing the footage, he said, “As you saw, the only ones, the only ones, violating the status quo on the Temple Mount are the Palestinian terror groups inflaming the holy sites. Israel will not allow terrorists to prevent any worshippers – of any faith – to exercise their right to pray, and Israel will not stand idly by as terrorists convert holy sites into battlefields.”

Following is footage shown by Erdan to media: