Rein in Tel Aviv Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

Hurt religious sentiment is a powerful incitement to violence. What’s happening in Jerusalem today is similar to what happened in September 2000 called the Al Aqsa Intifada and may easily spread to other parts in the region.

The build-up to the present clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters has been steady with Tel Aviv defying even the very mild demands of the US and Western governments to halt settlement expansions and start peace negotiation with ever more provocative action.  How much the Jewish state cares for their opinion was evident in the murder of Hamas’ Mahmoud Al Mabhouh in Dubai which (except for legal certitude) was carried out by Mossad assassins using fake Western passports. The Dubai crime came amid the Israeli land grab in Jerusalem.

The reason the West is putting up with Israeli actions in Jerusalem is that they are still unable to put behind the Holocaust that happened in Europe. In the bargain, the Palestinians are suffering.

By reopening a synagogue in East Jerusalem’s Wakf lands, Israel has made the conflict a war of religions.

The Israeli action is a technique to confuse the issues, c omi n g as it does ahead of the Arab Summit .

Instead of negotiations for peace, they are trying to change the terms of the debate and cover up the shame of the crime they committed in Dubai.

It is interesting to note that the time difference between the first and the second Intifada in 2000 was a little over 10 years. Now another 10 years have passed. It seems that every 10 years, Israel wants to create an Intifada.

Western governments should take note that this is becoming a war of religions. The last Gaza conflict was blamed on the missiles being launched towards Israel.  Now, there are no missiles involved.  Western governments should be very careful about how other parties like some Islamist groups can exploit this. They must do everything to avoid making Muslims feel they are abused in order to avoid terrorist retaliation.

We are asking Western governments to give Palestine peace a chance and avoid conflict in order to have progress and development in the region.