While National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is insisting on curbing Israeli and PA Arab presence on the Temple Mount for the duration of the month of Ramadan, to prevent eruptions of violence stirred up by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the three Conceptzia IDF-commanders-turned-war-cabinet ministers, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Yoav Gallant, are pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take away Ben Gvir’s control over the holy compound, News12 reported Wednesday night.
Ramadan, which this year will start on March 10, has been notorious for Arab violence in the mixed cities in Israel, on the roads of Judea and Samaria, in eastern Jerusalem, and, of course, the crown’s jewel, the site of Solomon’s holy Temple, where, according to a bizarre legend, the prophet Mohammed traveled on his horse in his dream from the Arab peninsula. Go figure.
The three amigos demanded that Ben Gvir’s authority to command the police regarding the Temple Mount be removed because, “In an explosive issue there is no place for political considerations,” suggesting that Ben Gvir wants to score political points by quelling the violence.
According to News12, the war cabinet has already gone ahead and issued its own decisions regarding the Temple Mount, never mind that the compound is under complete Israel Police control. They decided that there would be no sweeping restrictions on the entry of Israeli Arabs to the compound – while Ben Gvir has announced an age limit of 40; the police will set a quota of worshipers according to capacity and safety considerations only – meaning the police would have to deal with the violence of thousands of disappointed Arabs at the gates of the Temple Mount, instead of enforcing the official quota in highway checkpoints; and individual restrictions will be imposed only in accordance with intelligence information – because, you know, Israeli intelligence about Hamas movements has been so stellar.
In the end, the war cabinet decided to allow 50-60 thousand Muslims of all ages daily, but Ben Gvir wanted them older and less given to Hamas antisemitic incitement.
SOWING STRIFE AND DISSENT
To get their power move through, the three amigos of the Conceptzia incited one part of the police against the other. They got some high-ranking police officers to state that if the minister’s demand to limit the number and age of Arab worshipers is accepted, this could lead to a flare-up in Jerusalem and the mixed cities.
The solution should obviously be to let thousands of PA Arab day workers into green-line Israel and increase the shipments of Qatari suitcases full of dollars… But I digress.
In an official response, the police came out against the rogue officers, stating, “We are sorry that on a sensitive and complex issue that is being discussed in classified discussions at the political level, and no decisions have yet been made regarding it, there are elements that are voicing positions that it’s not clear on what they are based on and can harm the process and inflame the spirits. We stress that Israel Police will present its official positions to the political echelon and not through the media and will continue to do everything in its power to maintain the balance between freedom of worship and public peace and security.”
Ben Gvir issued a statement saying, “I expect the Prime Minister to deny the report according to which, in the Temple Mount issue, he decided to follow Benny Gantz’s concept that peace is bought by folding and submitting to terrorism, and about the intent to transfer powers held by the Minister of National Security to the Conceptzia cabinet.”
It’s like he could write this article for me…
GALLANT ON AUTOMATIC
The most adorable response came from DM Gallant, who complained, “In a time of war, everyone says what they want – including people who are supposed to be responsible, but are not responsible.”
Would have been shorter and faster to just say, “Ben Gvir,” or, “I can’t stand Ben Gvir.” Anyway, Gallant continued, “The result of this matter is a potential drift that can happen shortly. We have to stop it at the entry booth. In the face of all these noises – we are doing what is necessary, in front of whomever it is necessary, and carrying on.”
The poor man has been giving his total victory speech to so many units in the field, that he no longer notices when his speech slurs into gobbledygook.
THE STATE DEPT. AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, DON’ GET ME STARTED
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked on Wednesday, “Hamas is calling on Palestinians to march on al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan. I was wondering if the State Department has any comment on this call.”
Miller’s answer had everything in it, with the kitchen sink:
“I would just say, as it pertains to al-Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to the Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan consistent with past practice, and that’ll continue to be our position.”
You’ll not that the question was about a Hamas-driven march, and Miller spoke about imaginary “peaceful worshipers.”
And when asked, “Have you received any commitments from the Israeli Government that they will allow access to the mosque?” Miller said, “We have seen reports about plans that are under consideration. I don’t know if they’ve made a final decision over that matter.”
And then he declared: “We have urged them that worshipers should have access to al-Aqsa during Ramadan, and the point that we have made clear to them is, as is true for a number of areas that we discuss with them, that’s not just the right thing to do, it’s not just a matter of granting people religious freedom that they deserve and to which they have a right. But it’s also a matter that directly is important to Israel’s security.”
You realize that this is the same Matthew Miller whose Dept. of State has been classifying Jewish visits to the Temple Mount – not marches, visits – as “settler violence,” and has condemned those violent settlers for daring to mouth a blessing or recite a chapter of Psalms, or, God forbid, pray, as a threat to the status quo in the Middle East, which is so vital to Israel’s security.
“It is not in Israel’s security interest to inflame tensions in the West Bank or in the broader region, and so we’ll continue to make that clear,” Miller concluded.
LET 1,000 HAMAS FLOWERS BLOOM
To summarize: the US State Dept. believes that Israel must allow as many Hamas marchers as possible on the Temple Mount and use no means of discriminating between peaceful and warlike Muslims, otherwise, it would set the keg of gunpowder aflame.
You know, it doesn’t bother me that the Biden administration is being hypocritical on issues such as freedom of worship, it’s to be expected, since their interests in the region far exceed the Jewish State’s right to exist. What I find hard to tolerate, on the eve of the sixth-month anniversary of the October 7 massacre, is why the Israeli enablers of that massacre are still leading the country.
