Kerry and the Legitimizing of Al-Aqsa's Desecration

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

It is difficult for anyone to argue that the United States is not a party to the Arab-Zionist conflict, given its blatant bias toward the occupation at the expense of the Palestinian people’s national rights, and given its supply of every kind of advanced weapon and smart munition to the Zionist entity, while it constantly works to deny Palestinians even bullets. The Arabs have tested America for decades, and, with the exception of the Arab regimes orbiting like satellites around the White House, the Arab public sees that America is not an honest broker, and that another broker ought to be sought, if a broker is needed at all. The role of the United States became clear in recent days through the activity of its secretary of state, John Kerry, aimed at containing the Palestinian mobilization confronting the occupation in defense of Al-Aqsa and in rejection of the occupation. Kerry announced an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and perhaps King Abdullah II of Jordan, providing for the installation of cameras overlooking the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and for considering the mosque an Islamic holy site that non-Muslims are permitted to visit.

It is well known that the United Nations has adopted several General Assembly resolutions on preserving the historic status of Jerusalem, has repeatedly called on the Zionist entity to respect international agreements regarding territory under occupation, and has insisted on preserving the landmarks of Jerusalem and on not tampering with the civilization existing there. Israel has not recognized the General Assembly resolutions, which the United States itself opposed. It is true the United States administration has not yet taken diplomatic steps agreeing to consider Jerusalem the eternal capital of the occupying state, but the American Congress has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Zionist entity, and has called on the administration to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Congress never lets an opportunity to express its hostility to the Palestinian people pass without seizing it.

Until now, the international situation has contributed to protecting Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic and Christian holy sites generally — not out of love for Palestinians or Arabs, but out of fear that the situation in the region might explode. The Western colonial states, including the United States and states in Europe, have no interest in instability in the Arab-Islamic region, given the harm this would bring to their interests, particularly regarding security and economic matters. The Western states are also concerned with stability for the sake of the Zionist entity, because instability threatens the entity’s security and its citizens’ sense of safety, and if citizens feel unsafe, a number of them will consider leaving the land of Palestine — something the West does not want. An assault on Al-Aqsa, through demolition or temporal and spatial division, could lead to a state of instability, as we recently witnessed through Palestinian popular mobilization, which explains the pressure the people of the West are placing on the Zionist entity to avoid stirring tensions by violating the sanctity of the holy sites. For the record, Britain used to prevent Jews from praying at the Buraq Wall, which Jews call the Wailing Wall, out of fear of religious fighting breaking out between Arabs and Zionists. Britain experienced this in 1929, when some Jews went ahead and prayed at the Buraq Wall — violent fighting erupted at the time between the two sides, Arab and Jewish, killing hundreds. Had it not been for the containment attempts undertaken by the Palestinian political leaderships, the situation would have deteriorated to a point embarrassing Britain, then the mandatory power over Palestine, before the nations of the world.

“According to Kerry’s statement, settlers possess freedom to visit Al-Aqsa and its courtyards without Palestinian interference, and their visits will be internationally protected.”

But we are now witnessing a shift in the international situation, one offering a great gift to the entity and the settlers, through an agreement providing for allowing non-Muslims to visit the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. By rights, it is the Palestinians who should decide, of their own free will, who has the right to visit the Islamic holy sites and who does not — but the agreement ignores the Palestinians, placing the matter in the hands of non-Islamic states, the United States and the entity foremost among them. This represents a great disappointment, should it happen, because the Palestinian mobilization began in defense of, and for the sake of, Al-Aqsa — not to facilitate its violation by settlers. According to Kerry’s statement, settlers possess freedom to visit Al-Aqsa and its courtyards without Palestinian interference, and their visits will be internationally protected.

Kerry’s talk of the permitted visit constitutes a new step on the international stage, one that could develop in the future so that Al-Aqsa becomes both an Islamic and a Jewish site, or a Jewish site alone — just as happened to Palestine. Palestine was Arab at first, then shifted to another status, becoming both Arab and Jewish at once, then became Jewish, at least in the eyes of the United States. If the Kerry-Netanyahu agreement is accepted, the international situation will continue nibbling away at Al-Aqsa, just as Israel did at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in Jerusalem, and in the West Bank. Gradual, unprovocative nibbling achieves the Zionists’ goals without provoking a strong Palestinian reaction. And just as Palestinians came to recognize the entity and serve it on security matters, they could come to recognize the gradual domination over Al-Aqsa Mosque as well. This is a dangerous matter, one that must be rejected in word and deed, and Palestinians must not content themselves with statements, condemnation, and denunciation.

As for the cameras covering the mosque’s courtyards, they will be under Zionist control, meaning the exclusion of Palestinians and the Zionists’ monopoly over surveillance of the mosque and its courtyards. For this reason, Palestinians must arm themselves with sufficient awareness, and pay no heed to American pressure that might be brought to bear on them, financial pressure especially.

Finally, it must be noted that it is the colonial states of the world that created the Zionist entity, and that contributed to displacing Palestinians from their homeland. And even though these states voted in favor of the right of return stipulated in General Assembly Resolution 194, they do not utter a single word about this right now, generally considering the right of return to have lapsed, leaving Palestinian refugees to manage their own affairs. Some of these states do not hesitate to describe Palestinians as terrorists, believing the criminal Zionist entity is always merely defending itself. The nations of the world are not to be trusted, particularly those calling themselves the “international community,” and if Palestinians are to deal with the international level, the most suitable path lies in working through the international community as represented by the UN General Assembly.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “كيري وشرعنة تدنيس الأقصى” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.