September 25, 2015 Pipe Bombs in al-Aksa Are Real Violation of Temple Mount Status Quo

September 25, 2015 The Temple Mount

Pipe Bombs in al-Aksa Are Real Violation of Temple Mount Status Quo

Bringing explosives and pipe bombs into al-Aksa is a violation of the status quo at the site that Israel simply will not tolerate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting on September 20.

The Palestinians claimed that Israel is trying to undermine the status quo on the site, while Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel is committed to retaining it.

Israel “will act responsibly, but with determination, to ensure that the existing arrangements are maintained,” he said. “We have no plans to change them, but we also have no intention of allowing anyone to cause the deterioration of the arrangements on the Temple Mount by resorting to explosive and widespread violence.”

“We are not altering the status quo.” he said. “Those who incite with baseless, wild provocations – as if Israel is trying to prevent Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount or wants to destroy the mosques, or other wild things that are being said – they are the ones who are inciting. This incitement comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Movement in Israel, Hamas, and – to our chagrin – also with the active participation of the Palestinian Authority.”

Some 40 Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks and firebombs were arrested in a crackdown at the beginning of the week, although instances of stone-throwing and other acts of violence continued.

Source: The International Jerusalem Post.