Palestinian leaders warn of 'third intifada' over Jerusalem

The racist Likud government of Israel has signaled it will annex Jerusalem and continue to steal other land on the West Bank. They may be able to argue that they abandoned Gaza and got a war, but now the Palestinians fear past proposals to split East Jerusalem off to allow both to have a piece is now dead. Fatah makes peace and loses East Jerusalem and much of the West Bank, what recourse do they have?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Palestinian leaders on Thursday called for a one-day general strike and warned of more street protests over Jerusalem, but Israel played down the risk of an uprising despite two weeks of tension in the occupied city. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction made the call for the strike on Friday in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and Palestinian leaders warned of the likelihood of a battle ahead of Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The compound housing the mosque is a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, and has often been a flashpoint. Israeli security forces control access to the area and regularly prohibit young Muslim men from entering the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City, citing security grounds.

Tensions rose two weeks ago when police and protesters clashed near Al-Aqsa Mosque on the eve of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. What triggered the incident remains unclear, but the dispute over access to the holy site was at the root of it.

A beefed-up Israeli police presence, and a relatively small turnout of Palestinian protesters, has kept violence under control in ensuing clashes since late September.

Palestinians in senior positions have warned of the risk of a “third intifada,” or general uprising. But Israel has tried to avoid getting involved in any war of words over Jerusalem.

[..] King Abdullah of Jordan, who plays a key part in management of Al-Aqsa, said in an interview with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that Jerusalem was “a tinderbox” that could explode with reverberations felt throughout the Muslim world. 

Mohammad Dahlan, a leader in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction charged that Israel “has opened the battle of Jerusalem.” Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of “lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire.”

via The Daily Star - Politics - Palestinian leaders warn of 'third intifada' over Jerusalem.

An Israeli police source said intelligence assessments showed the commotion in East Jerusalem would not escalate.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Jerusalem set for al-Aqsa protest (news.bbc.co.uk)


• Israeli reinforcements to secure Jerusalem (msnbc.msn.com)


• Israel deploys police as tensions rise (guardian.co.uk)


• Peace an illusion, says Israel FM (news.bbc.co.uk)


• Hamas criticizes Abbas over war crimes report (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• Palestinians accuse Hamas over UN report (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• US's 'arc of instability' just gets bigger (citizengkar.wordpress.com)

Where does the hatred come from?

It would appear that Homeland Security is promoting Islamo-phobia in it's recommended training for US Law Enforcement! Where is Obama? Is he just pretending to be Bush lite?

Image via Wikipedia

This fall, U.S. law enforcement personnel will have their final chance to take advantage of a rare opportunity. Participants will travel to Israel to receive “homeland security training,” but the counterterrorism briefings and martial arts practice sessions are only one part of the package. The program also includes visits to Christian religious sites in the Holy Land — an aspect likely to be especially attractive to Christian Zionists — along with other sites such as the Knesset and the Israeli “security fence”.

The Israel program is run by Security Solutions International (SSI), a group that has attracted controversy due to its ties to Islamophobic propaganda groups — as well as its apparent view that indoctrinating first responders with alarmist information about Islam is an essential part of counterterrorism training.

Most striking of all, the SSI Israel trip is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DHS’s funding of this venture is a concrete illustration of the ways that Islamophobic fringe groups have exploited the “global war on terror” for their own purposes.[..]So what does this training involve? In addition to martial arts demonstrations including “how to take down an armed suicide bomber”, meetings with Israeli security personnel, and a three-hour presentation on “suicide terror,” the itinerary also includes more tourist-oriented activities. Tourist excursions are both political visits to the Knesset, the West Bank “security barrier,” and southern Israeli towns that have been the target of rocket attacks from Gaza, and religious trips to Jerusalem’s Old City and to “some of Christianity’s holiest sites”.While this DHS-funded trip might already seem a bit odd — especially the emphasis on Christian religious sites during what is ostensibly a counterterrorism training program — things take a turn towards the bizarre in the section of the website advertising SSI’s two day presentations on “The Islamic Jihadist Threat”.

via LobeLog.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hamas asserts power in Gaza after al Qaeda clash (nationalpost.com)


• At Least 6 Die at Gaza Mosque in a Clash With Hamas (nytimes.com)


• Group Says Israel Plan to Cement Hold on Jerusalem (abcnews.go.com)