In his latest attempt to reduce Israeli security at the Temple Mount, Abbas reportedly appealed to Jared Kushner to demand the removal of the newly installed metal detectors.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in his most recent effort to weaken the Jewish state and deny the profound Jewish connection to Jerusalem, has appealed to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, to demand the removal of newly installed metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount.
Last Friday, Israeli-Arab terrorists murdered two Israeli policemen – both Druze – outside the Mount. Since that deadly attack, Israel installed metal detectors at the entrances to the site.
“According to Hebrew-language media, Abbas told Kushner that tensions over the holy site were a serious concern, and threatened to get out of control if Israel did not back down,” Times of Israel reported.
Meanwhile, Abbas has repeatedly defied the Trump Administration by refusing to stop funding terror by paying salaries to Palestinian prisoners and families of “martyrs” killed during an attack.
Abbas also spoke on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asking him to pressure Israel to remove the metal detectors. “He has reportedly also contacted other regional leaders and a United Nations committee in a bid to force Israel’s hand,” according to the Times.
‘White House: Holy Sites Must Be Protected’
The White House on Saturday backed Israel’s decision to close the site in response to the terror attack.
“The people of the United States are heartbroken that terrorists brutally gunned down two Israeli police officers,” said Press Secretary Sean Spicer. “There must be zero tolerance for terrorism. It is incompatible with achieving peace and we must condemn it in the strongest terms, defeat it, and eradicate it.”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also swiftly condemned what he called the “despicable” terror attack in Jerusalem. The US Consulate General in Jerusalem, which represents American interests with the Palestinian Authority (PA), called the attack a “horrific and violent act,” adding that “terrorism is unacceptable. Holy sites must be protected.”
Abbas has a long history of inciting violence against the Jewish state, funding terror and attempting to remove any Jewish connection to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.
As far back as October 2014, for example, according to several media sources, Abbas called Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, a “herd of cattle.”
At the time, Palestinian Media Watch also documented that PA TV had broadcast “19 times in three days Abbas’s implicit call for violence in Jerusalem,” including a short video featuring the Palestinian leader calling for Arabs to prevent – “in any way” – Jews from visiting the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem Mayor: We Will Not Succumb to Threats’
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Friday issued a statement, saying “the decision of Jerusalem District Police Commander Yoram Halevy to place metal detectors on the Temple Mount is a courageous decision…a responsible one that will help to ensure that such incidents [as last Friday’s deadly terror attack] do not repeat themselves.”
We will not succumb to threats and allow terror to win,” Barkat affirmed. This is not a political matter; it is a professional, security issue.”
By: United with Israel Staff