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Wed, Dec 01, 2010 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Jews praying at the Western Wall around 1900. The Palestinian Authority continues their efforts to de-Judaize the Jewish Holy Sites and change history in favor of Palestinian-Arab claims to the land of Israel. "Jews did not worship at the Wailing Wall at any time until the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and the Western Wall was not part of the Jewish religious tradition before the year 1520 and is not part of the wall of the so-called Jewish Temple," according to a "study" by the PA. Thus denying the true history: The Western Wall is the outer wall of the Second Temple compound and has been a symbol of the deepest connection between most of the Jewish world, both religious and secular, and Judaism for two thousand years following the destruction of the Second Temple. It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple's courtyard and is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism outside of the Temple Mount itself. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, being constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great. It has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries, the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dating from the 4th century. That's even before the birth of Muhammad the Prophet and the rise of Islam. (This image is in the public domain).

Palestinians No Peace Partner: Delegitimization of Israel Continues

Remarks from Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal

Khaled Mashaal, head of the Hamas political bureau, gave a speech at the founding convention held in Damascus of “The national authority for adherence to Palestinian principles.” He noted five basic “principles” which he said most of the Palestinians believed in (Al-Jazeera TV, November 27, 2010):

• “Every inch of Palestinian territories” must be returned.
• “The occupation” [i.e., the State of Israel] is not legitimate “in any part of Palestine.”
• Jerusalem is the capital of “Palestine.”
• “The resistance [i.e., violence and terrorism] is the strategic path of the Palestinians for the liberation of Palestine.”
• The future Palestinian state will be part of the Arab-Islamic nation.

Khaled Mashaal said he opposed peace talks “supervised by America” because they would lead to a waiving of the so-called “rights of the Palestinians.” He called on the Palestinian people to rise up against Salam Fayyad and join the “resistance,” because “only the armed resistance will ensure that the Palestinian cause remains at the heart of things” (Reuters and Al-Jazeera TV, November 27, 2010).

Senior Palestinian Authority Figures Deny the Jewish People’s Link to the Western Wall

Al-Mutawakil Taha, the Palestinian Authority’s deputy information minister, presented the results of “research” which denied the connection between the Jewish people and the Western Wall. He made the remarks following a decision made on November 21, 2010, by the government of the State of Israel to invest 85 million shekels (about $23 million) in renovating the compound in front of the Western Wall (Israeli Prime Minister’s website, November 21, 2010),

Taha claimed that his “research” “proved” that Israel’s claims to “ownership of the wall of al-Buraq [i.e., the Western Wall] are lies” and that its original right of ownership “belongs to Muslims.” He claimed that “the Western Wall was never a place of prayer for Jews” before the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and only Muslim tolerance [sic] allowed them to pray there. He also claimed that the Western Wall was “part of Al-Aqsa mosque and not even one stone has any relation to the [Jewish] Temple.” He said that for Muslims, “it has no replacement,” and that no Muslim can “give up even a millimeter of the wall or the other holy places” (Website of the Palestinian information ministry, November 22, 2010).

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu stated that “The Palestinian Authority Information Ministry’s denial of the link between the Jewish People and the Western Wall is reprehensible and scandalous. The Western Wall has been the Jewish People’s most sacred place for almost 2,000 years, since the destruction of the Second Temple. This is not the only instance in which Palestinians are trying to distort historical facts in order to deny the deep and historic link between the Jewish People and its homeland… The Government of Israel expects Palestinian Authority leaders to disavow and condemn the aforesaid document, refrain from distorting historical facts and encourage the creation of a bridge to peace that will lead to an historic reconciliation between the two peoples” (Israeli Prime Minister’s website, November 25, 2010).

Publications and Remarks in Praise of Shaheeds and Suicide Bombing Attacks

On November 12, 2010, a sermon was given at the mosque of the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah, attended by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The preacher stated that the Palestinians were determined to follow “the path of the shaheeds” until an independent Palestinian state was established with Jerusalem as its capital. The sermon was broadcast by Palestinian Authority TV, November 23, 2010).

Left: The preacher during sermon says the Palestinians are determined to "follow the path of the shaheeds" until a Palestinian state is established. Right: Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas listens to the sermon delivered at the mosque of the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah. (Palestinian Authority TV, November 23, 2010).

On November 22, 2010, the Ma’an News Agency reported from Hebron that a flyer was being distributed in Judea and Samaria giving profiles of Palestinians suicide bombers and detailed descriptions of their attacks. The flyer’s headline was “Those who sacrifice their lives to glorify the name of Allah and their sacrifices to glorify the name of Allah.” It gives the results of a “research project” called “Palestinian suicide bombers: facts and figures.” It was written by Dr. Bassam Yussuf Ibrahim Banath, a Fatah activist from the Hebron district who lectures at the Al-Quds Open University. The research was also used as a thesis proposal for doctoral work at the University of Grenada in Spain. The author noted that suicide bombing terrorism had become part of Palestinian culture.

The flyer distributed in Judea and Samaria (Ma'an News Agency, November 22, 2010).

The flyer contained information about suicide bombers (istishhad), including demographic and statistical information. It was rife with praise for killing Israelis in terrorist attacks and the use of suicide bombing terrorism, quotations taken from the “living wills” of prominent suicide bombers in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. It mentioned the names and organizations of 25 suicide bombers who carried out deadly suicide bombing attacks in Israeli cities. Among them were the bombing of the Café Moment in Jerusalem (March 9, 2002, 11 dead and 25 wounded), the attack at the Pat Junction in Jerusalem (June 18, 2002, 19 dead and 50 wounded), the suicide bombing attack carried out by female suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa (October 4, 2003, 21 dead and 48 wounded), and others.

Abu Udai makes Anti-Israel Pro-Terrorism Statement

Abu Udai, a senior figure in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (Fatah’s military-terrorist wing), said that unless Israel accepted the Palestinian demands and restored the Palestinians’ so-called “rights,” including stopping the “Judaization of Jerusalem,” his organization would renew its “armed activity against Israel targets in the ‘occupied territories.'” He said that his organization had acceded to Mahmoud Abbas’ request and suspended its operations to give the peace process a chance, but that Israel had proved it understood “only the language of force” (Qudsnet, November 27, 2010).