Excuses, Excuses
In July of 2000, Yasser Arafat turned down Ehud Barak's offer for permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians: 95% of the West Bank, all of the Gaza Strip, and a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. On September 27, 2000 a roadside bomb planted by Palestinian terrorists killed 19 year old Sgt. David Biri. On September 28, 2000, an Israeli police officer was murdered by the Palestinian police officer he was on a joint patrol with.
In this context, also on September 28 - exactly five years ago - Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, the single holiest site in the entire Jewish world. In response, "spontaneous" Arab rioting broke out. Five years later, the cost has been crushing:
In the five years of violence, a total of 1,061 Israelis were killed and murdered and 6,089 wounded in a total of 26,159 attacks carried out in Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.
We now know that the Palestinians had been preparing for months to go to war with Israel:
PA Communications Minister, 'Imad Al-Faluji, visited Lebanon and spoke at the 'Ein Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. In his speech Al-Faluji stated that the Al-Aqsa Intifada was pre-meditated, and was the Palestinian response to their failure to achieve their goals at the Camp David negotiations. After Israel announced its intention to use Al-Faluji's words to support its response to the Mitchell Commission it was reported that Yasser Arafat pressured Al-Faluji to retract his statements. Subsequently, Al-Faluji announced that he had never made such comments. However, similar statements by Al-Faluji as well as other Palestinian leaders have been reported previously.
There are still people today who insist that Sharon's visit "caused" the five years of violence. Those are the same people who, every time that Arab and Muslim countries insist they want to wipe out Israel, talk about the "occupation" as the root cause of Arab intransigence.
In this context, also on September 28 - exactly five years ago - Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, the single holiest site in the entire Jewish world. In response, "spontaneous" Arab rioting broke out. Five years later, the cost has been crushing:
In the five years of violence, a total of 1,061 Israelis were killed and murdered and 6,089 wounded in a total of 26,159 attacks carried out in Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.
We now know that the Palestinians had been preparing for months to go to war with Israel:
PA Communications Minister, 'Imad Al-Faluji, visited Lebanon and spoke at the 'Ein Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. In his speech Al-Faluji stated that the Al-Aqsa Intifada was pre-meditated, and was the Palestinian response to their failure to achieve their goals at the Camp David negotiations. After Israel announced its intention to use Al-Faluji's words to support its response to the Mitchell Commission it was reported that Yasser Arafat pressured Al-Faluji to retract his statements. Subsequently, Al-Faluji announced that he had never made such comments. However, similar statements by Al-Faluji as well as other Palestinian leaders have been reported previously.
There are still people today who insist that Sharon's visit "caused" the five years of violence. Those are the same people who, every time that Arab and Muslim countries insist they want to wipe out Israel, talk about the "occupation" as the root cause of Arab intransigence.
