Palestinian shot dead charging at Israeli troops

Netanyahu’s blunders have let Palestinian leaders use protests at Temple Mount for their own political ends

A PALESTINIAN was shot dead after trying to attack Israeli troops with a knife yesterday, the Israeli military said, but otherwise a planned “day of rage” seemed to pass quietly in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army said the Palestinian, identified as 24-year-old Abdullah Ali Mahmoud Taqatqa, was killed when he tried to charge at Israeli soldiers near the Gush Etzion junction, a major road intersection in the West Bank.

Israeli officials had feared thousands of young Palestinians might clash with their troops after tension rose over security measures at the al-aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Israel had banned men under 50 from going to the mosque after clashes on Thursday.

By yesterday afternoon there were only sporadic confrontations in the West Bank and afternoon prayers passed peacefully in Jerusalem.

We have been here before, many times. Since Israel took Jerusalem in the Six-day War in 1967, the symbol of the Al-aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, one of the holiest sites in Islam, has often been used by both Palestinian politicians and terrorists as a focus.

In 1996, the opening of a tunnel under the Western Wall was portrayed as “the Jews” finding a way to worm their way under the Muslim holy site. A week of violent clashes followed. And infamously, Ariel Sharon’s visit to Temple Mount in 2000 as Israel’s leader of the opposition led to riots and the Second Intifada, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Now the situation is close to boiling point again, with a series of clashes followed by periods of quiet – and the widespread feeling is that something worse is around the corner.

Originally the “Waqf ” – the religious governing council of the site – was appointed by Jordan, but in the 1990s Yasser Arafat’s PLO took control. Now it is dominated by the more radical Islamic Movement in Israel, and that is one of the key factors behind the current clashes, sparked when three Israeli Arabs killed two police officers at Al-aqsa two weeks ago. In response, the Israelis introduced metal detectors – common throughout the Muslim world, but here seen as a deliberate provocation by the Waqf and Palestinian Authority (PA).

The Waqf is central to these events because it has been working hand in hand with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the PA, to foment trouble. The two have clearly been cooperating.

On Tuesday, Abbas convened the PA’S leadership in Ramallah and made clear that it stood with the Muslim worshippers who were refusing to enter the Al-aqsa mosque and were praying outside, in protest at the metal detectors. “We are with you,” he said. “We support you and are proud of you and of everything you have done. You are caring for and guarding the Al-aqsa compound, and guarding your lands and your dignity and your religion and the holy sites... Jerusalem is our capital and is our sovereignty, and what you did was the right thing.”

This was an important statement, made alongside a decision to try to escalate the protests globally by involving international bodies such as the International Court of Justice. Underlying it is the central Palestinian focus on Jerusalem as the capital of the would-be Palestinian state. Abbas is using the emotional symbolism across the Muslim world of Haram al-sharif (the Muslim name for Temple Mount). The more it is in the news, the more Muslims are fired up and the more chance there is of international attention on Jerusalem itself as the supposed rightful Palestinian capital.

This is especially important to Abbas because the international image of these latest clashes is not based on the actual trigger – the murder of two Israeli police officers – but on what appears to be Israel’s interference with thousands of peaceful Muslims’ desire to pray in their mosque.

But this is not just about PR and image; it is also about the heart of the Palestinian-israeli conflict. Jerusalem would almost always be the PA’S chosen target for a clash with Israel. When there is violence in the West Bank, the PA is usually on the defensive, with Israel insisting that it is the PA’S role to stamp any clashes out.

Jerusalem, in contrast, is Israel’s to control. That means that protests in Jerusalem feed exactly the story the Palestinians want told: of a reaction against the deprivations brought about by an occupying power. In this case that deprivation is the right to pray.

Israel has been caught flat footed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taking some foolish decisions. Yes, metal detectors are common and theoretically sensible. But both the Shin Bet (Israel’s domestic security service) and the IDF’S intelligence arm told him that they would lead to riots. He overrode their warnings and went with the police’s request for them. But by Monday night he was forced by a combination of common sense, the unanimous recommendation from Israeli security services and, apparently, a direct request from King Abdullah of Jordan, to remove them – to be replaced with a “smart inspection” system installed over the next six months. The Waqf refuses to agree even to this and is still calling for a boycott of the mosque.

So long as it does not escalate into something bigger and worse, this is a clash that, in a sense, suits both sides. The Palestinians have their protest and the world is now watching Jerusalem – and the Israeli response. Mr Netanyahu thought he would be able to demonstrate to hard liners in his Cabinet that he would act tough, although this plainly backfired. His domestic political difficulties and the seemingly growing possibility of an indictment for corruption allegations mean he feels he has to ally with hawkish ministers Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman.

For the moment, there seems to be relative quiet. But it could escalate. One rash move on either side could change the dynamics. By next week, we could be talking about a Third Intifada, with all that entails. Or we could have moved on to the next crisis point. Welcome to the Middle East. FOLLOW Stephen Pollard on Twitter @stephenpollard; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion