The PA is unabashed about its desire to create a contiguous urban foothold from Bethlehem, through Beit Jala and Givat Hamatos.

Claims that the region is affected by anti-Semitism are "propaganda. The peoples here have always hosted – and continue to host – Jews in a warm manner," Mohammad Javad Zarif says.

Israel's two most formidable adversaries have both come up short in their quests for regional domination, and Israel is reaping the rewards of their losses.

“Belgium as a Western democracy should be ashamed to allow such a vitriolic anti-semitic display. I call upon the authorities there to condemn and ban this hateful parade in Aalst,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweets.

Secretly, devoid of any of the traditional religious paraphernalia, a growing number of Jewish worshippers have been praying on the Temple Mount with the tacit consent of the police. This change is also at the heart of the fact that the US's peace plan seeks to ensure the status quo in the holy place permits Jewish visits, and the possibility of exercising the right of prayer in the open.