Jerusalem is a land laden with booby traps. And the Temple Mount – a place where one must walk on tiptoes – even more so. On the Temple Mount, it is often better to be smart than right. Almost every inch of this gunpowder keg conceals pitfalls and glowing embers – with a noxious combination of religious fanaticism, terrorism and nationalism. Without extreme caution – a massive inferno can erupt.
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There is, however, a pivotal moment when the exaggerated caution on the Temple Mount becomes toxic and turns on you; a moment when the other side interprets your restraint and containment as weakness and capitulation; a moment when the Arab side is convinced that he is the lord and master of the place, and you become a virtual sovereign force. Over the last week, this line has been crossed in Jerusalem on the whole, and the Temple Mount in particular, over and over again.
The desire to avoid Palestinian loss of life at any cost, even though extremist elements set the city ablaze, together with the decision to allow Muslims to continue to pray on the Temple Mount even though they have turned it into a base for terrorism and violence – do not pass the test of reality.
The Palestinians in Jerusalem and Hamas in Gaza, along with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, and Muslim religious leaders in the capital, must begin to feel as though they too have something to lose. Currently, they are on the side that gains from the situation – and want to gain even more. This is a tried and tested recipe for escalation.
Only when they realize that there is also a losses column, and that it is tangible, will quiet return to Jerusalem. The moment that the inciters from Sheikh Jarrah, the Temple Mount and Damascus Gate are put behind bars, fined huge amounts and will even be prevented from entering the Old City and the Temple Mount – that will be a pivotal moment.
Only when they are kept away from the historical city by law – as was done with the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement a few years back, only when the Temple Mount will be closed off – for limited periods – to Muslims too, only when they realize that there are two sides to the coin.
Rather than making do with the current minimal police presence on the Temple Mount, more police positions can be set up. A permanent presence for the Antiquities Authority can also be established on the Temple Mount so that it can fully and professionally monitor the massive damage Palestinians are causing to antiquities there.
In addition, the influence over the Temple Mount by Jordan – who even now is being duplicitous – can be once again curbed: on the one hand, they are "attempting to de-escalate", while on the other permitting inflammatory incitement against Israel. Action should be taken too against Turkey and its emissaries in Jerusalem.
There are, by the way, brave Muslim religious leaders around the world who are willing to tell it like it is. These leaders can be found in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy and even Israel. They know that the violence and terrorism in the name of Al Aqsa desecrate the sanctity of the place and amounts to taking Allah's name in vain. They even say it out loud every now and again. And now is the time for them to raise their voices once more.
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