The warning of security officials about the consequences of the apparent government decision to limit the entry of Arab Israelis to the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan is both due to common sense and from the bitter experience of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
Common sense says that Hamas has failed in its stated intention to turn the war into a conflict between the entire Muslim world and Israel, but nothing can unite Muslims against Israel than keeping Muslims away from Al-Aqsa Mosque. Bitter experience means that the extremist elements among the Arabs of Israel will use the restrictions to try to incite their community, which has behaved in a commendable manner since October 7.
It is clear that the government’s action has nothing to do with applying common sense nor learning from past experience. The fact that the government convenes for a discussion before there is even an agreed-upon outline about who will be restricted, from what age, and under what conditions only indicates that the whole move is nothing more than a political show of power by Minister of National Security Ben Gvir, showing his base and the public in general his control over the agenda, his ability to determine things for the Prime Minister, and his power relative to other ministers like Gantz and Eisenkot, who supposedly manage the military campaign by virtue of their role in the war cabinet, but in practice are forced to explain what else they are doing in the coalition led by the most extremist elements in it.
At the current stage of the war, it seems that the way the campaign is being conducted is no longer based on agreed-upon goals or operational needs (there is no point to talk about the political, because the prime minister refuses to discuss the political design of the campaign), but rather on Netanyahu’s survival considerations and Ben Gvir’s sense of euphoria. But the price of this frivolity will be heavy if gunfire breaks out specifically on the Temple Mount.
The warning of security officials about the consequences of the apparent government decision to limit the entry of Arab Israelis to the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan is both due to common sense and from the bitter experience of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
Common sense says that Hamas has failed in its stated intention to turn the war into a conflict between the entire Muslim world and Israel, but nothing can unite Muslims against Israel than keeping Muslims away from Al-Aqsa Mosque. Bitter experience means that the extremist elements among the Arabs of Israel will use the restrictions to try to incite their community, which has behaved in a commendable manner since October 7.
It is clear that the government’s action has nothing to do with applying common sense nor learning from past experience. The fact that the government convenes for a discussion before there is even an agreed-upon outline about who will be restricted, from what age, and under what conditions only indicates that the whole move is nothing more than a political show of power by Minister of National Security Ben Gvir, showing his base and the public in general his control over the agenda, his ability to determine things for the Prime Minister, and his power relative to other ministers like Gantz and Eisenkot, who supposedly manage the military campaign by virtue of their role in the war cabinet, but in practice are forced to explain what else they are doing in the coalition led by the most extremist elements in it.
At the current stage of the war, it seems that the way the campaign is being conducted is no longer based on agreed-upon goals or operational needs (there is no point to talk about the political, because the prime minister refuses to discuss the political design of the campaign), but rather on Netanyahu’s survival considerations and Ben Gvir’s sense of euphoria. But the price of this frivolity will be heavy if gunfire breaks out specifically on the Temple Mount.