The Palestinian Authority on Sunday strongly condemned visits by Jews to the Temple Mount and accused the Israeli government of targeting Islamic religious sites in Jerusalem.

The PA also held the US administration and the Israeli government responsible for what it described as "assaults" on Islamic and Christian holy sites, and called on Arabs and Muslims to take action to stop Jews from "storming" the Temple Mount.

The strongly-worded statement comes after member of Knesset and Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel ascended the Temple Mount earlier in the day.

His visit to the Temple Mount came after the three-year ban on Members of Knesset visiting the holy site was revoked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ariel is a member of the the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party, and in a Sunday morning interview with Kan radio, Ariel mentioned that he did not agree with party leader Naftali Bennett's stance on Members of Knesset not visiting the controversial holy site.


The new policy, revised by Netanyahu, allows members of Knesset to visit the Temple Mount once ever three months and reverses previous legislation which forbade MK's from visitations for security reasons.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein distributed to Knesset members new instructions on Thursday for going up on the Temple Mount. Edelstein’s instructions followed a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to let MKs visit the controversial holy site once every three months after not permitting them to go there for the past two years.

In addition, Member of Knesset Sharren Haskel from the Likud party ascended the Temple Mount. The last time she visited the Temple Mount was three weeks before she was sworn into the Knesset.

“I am a big supporter of allowing visits to the Temple Mount, and I think MKs have a right to visit holy sites, just like other citizens,” he said.

Edelstein urged all the MKs from all factions to show respect for the site and to the Knesset and “avoid unnecessary provocations.”

Likud MK Yehuda Glick requested to enter the holy site in a letter he wrote to Netanyahu. Glick wrote that the National Security Council had recommended that no MKs go up to the Temple Mount until after Ramadan, but that Arab MKs had entered the site during the Muslim holy month that ended three weeks ago.

Glick said he wanted to go up to the Mount during the three weeks of mourning on the Jewish calendar ahead of the observance of Tisha Be’av, the date on which the two Jewish holy temples built there were destroyed.











The Temple Mount stands as ground zero for the current unrest.  If that sounds familiar it’s because it has happened many times before.  Those 35 acres of ground intensify emotions on both sides like nothing else.  Jews would at least like to pray there — an idea that is anathema to the Muslims.

That small plot of land has inspired so much fear and rage among Muslims that in October, U.S. News and World Report ran an editorial by Ben Caspit calling on Israel to completely close the Temple Mount to Jews.

Caspit wrote, “Israel has no intention of taking control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque or changing the status quo involving the Temple Mount.  The Palestinians, however, are more attentive to conspiracy theories based on statements by the messianic Israeli right.  The thing is, the messianics stand at a great distance from the government, and anyone who relates to their words as a scenario soon to unfold is simply manipulating facts.  None of this is important at the moment, however, because the Palestinians are convinced that Israel plans on usurping Al-Aqsa.”

The Muslim hysteria about Jews rebuilding the Temple may not be as farfetched as Caspit claims.  A poll taken in 2010 showed that 49% of Israelis want to see the Temple rebuilt.  Only 23% said it shouldn’t happen.  The rest were undecided.


Whether they believe it’s possible or not, Palestinian leaders use fear of a rebuilt Jewish Temple to stir up their constituents to the point of violence.  Even proposals to rebuild the temple without harming the mosques draws a frenzy of rage from the Muslims.  No matter what Israel the promises, they fully expect the Jews to destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It’s interesting that so many Palestinians are convinced that there will be another Jewish Temple on the site.  Few of them know it, but they’re agreeing with the Bible.  It says that before the mid-point of the seven-year period known as Daniel’s 70th Week, the temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices will be offered again.


Unbelieving religious Jews will rebuild the false temple and offer false animal sacrifices during the first part of the Tribulation. (Daniel 11:31)        Then the “man of lawlessness”, the Antichrist, will desecrate that false   temple of God by taking his seat in the Holy of Holies, displaying himself as being God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB)  That event will start the last half of the Tribulation.  That will start 3½ years of the greatest horrors yet known to mankind.  It will end with the visible Coming of THE ALMIGHTY, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He will rule for 1000 years of peace.  Then is the last Judgment of all unbelievers of all Ages.  He will then establish forever the New Heaven and Earth.