Weekly Commentary: Jerusalem and Israeli Arabs Weren't Issues In Operation
Breaking Dawn
Dr. Aaron Lerner 7 August 2022

The absence of any serious downside to Prime Minister Lapid's decision not
to limit Jewish visits to the Temple Mount today is an important lesson.

There were concerns that allowing Jews to visit the Temple Mount this Tisha
B'Av might somehow compel Hamas to join with Islamic Jihad thus breaking its
essentially neutral stance in Operation Breaking Dawn.

But Hamas limited itself to calling for Palestinians to protect Al-Aqsa
Mosque from "Israeli settlers" "storming" the Mosque rather than actually
entering the fray and barely any Arabs showed up on Sunday as a record
number of Jews visited with only a few minor incidents.

Israeli Arabs around the country also voted with the absence of their feet
engaged in any violent activity in response to the Jewish visits to the
Temple Mount.

Does this mean that "defending Al-Aqsa Mosque" is no more than a convenient
slogan when Arabs want to find a reason to justify a conflict they are
seeking anyway?

Interesting question.

No doubt the Iranians are now pondering what Operation Breaking Dawn means
for the deterrent effect their threat of somehow turning the response to
Israeli action against them into a multi-front religiously driven attack
against the Jewish State from Gaza, Lebanon and inside Israel itself.


________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il