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Claims site not up for talks, but Palestinians say PM already agreed to
forfeiture Posted: November 29, 2007
News From Israel JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statements yesterday that
Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for negotiation are
"false," according to a chief Palestinian negotiator who said that the
Israeli leader already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a
coalition of Arab countries.
"What Olmert said [regarding the Mount] is absolutely false. I think
he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the
right time and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will
fall apart if he announces it now," said a senior Palestinian
negotiator, speaking today from Annapolis on condition his name be withheld. Olmert's maintains a government coalition with the religious Shas party
and Russian Yisroel Beiteinu party but if those two bolt, the prime
minister could create a new coalition with leftist parties. The chief Palestinian negotiator said in months leading up to Annapolis
the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up
the Mount. "We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled,
but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The
Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert
didn't debate about giving the lower section of the [Mount] either,
which was a sticking point in the past." According to the negotiator, Olmert agreed to evacuate the Mount but not
to turn it over to the Palestinians alone. The negotiator said both
sides agreed the Temple Mount would be given to joint Egypt, Jordan and
Palestinian Authority control. He said the Israeli government felt an umbrella group of several Arab
countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA would help
ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple Mount, since
Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be moderate countries. The Palestinian negotiator pointed out Israeli prime ministers
previously denied withdrawal plans only to later carry them out. Former
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, elected on a platform against evacuating
territory, denied for his first year in office he would retreat from the
Gaza Strip but in 2005 he carried out a Gaza withdrawal. In a briefing to reporters yesterday, Olmert claimed Israel's
sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for discussion. He said
negotiations started at this week's Annapolis summit had no bearing on
the situation on the Temple Mount. At the start of Tuesday's summit, President Bush read a joint
declaration agreed to by Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas
committing the two to launch immediate negotiations aimed at "two
states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side." The parties said they would aim to conclude an agreement before Bush
leaves office next year, with Israel widely expected to evacuate large
swaths of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, handing Abbas
the strategic territories. Israel recaptured the West Bank and eastern
Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, in 1967. "The negotiations will address all of the issues which we have thus far
avoided dealing with," said Olmert on Tuesday. "I am convinced that the
reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly. I
know this. Many of my people know this. We are prepared for it." Olmert would not be the first Israeli leader willing to forfeit the
Temple Mount. During U.S.-led negotiations in 2000, Ehud Barak, then prime minister,
reportedly was willing to forfeit the Temple Mount to international
control. The negotiations fell through after Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Adviser Gilad Sher – who represented Barak at initial
Israeli-Palestinian planning meetings in 2000 during which President
Clinton discussed the Temple Mount – wrote in his book "Beyond Reach"
that Clinton's plan called for the Temple Mount to become Palestinian
sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would
fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to
participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to
place the Mount under international sovereignty. Israel bars Jews, Christians from praying on Mount The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims say it is their
third holiest site. The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century
B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple
was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian
captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70.
Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries. The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed
the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said
to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Al Aqsa Mosque now
sits on the site. The Temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices
and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services
over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered
by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish
tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion
of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact. The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine
near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic
caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states
Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" –
believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest
mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque
later became associated with the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Currently under Israeli control, Jews and Christians are barred from
praying on the Mount. The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000,
when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at
Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon
visited the area. Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the
Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian
traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians. The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is
open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays
or other days considered "sensitive" by the Waqf. During "open" days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount,
usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a
strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or
bring any "holy objects" to the site. Visitors are banned from entering
any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by
Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to
any breaking of their guidelines.
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