Moshe Feiglin: New “Status Quo Accords” on Temple Mount Will Intensify Violence

In a radio interview on Sunday on the new accords on the Temple Mount, Moshe Feiglin said that Netanyahu does not understand the source of the wave of violence currently engulfing Israel, employing instead more of the same tools that he has always used. “Since the Temple Mount was handed to the Arabs immediately after it was liberated in the Six Day War,” said Feiglin, the status quo there has been deteriorating. Over the past few years, the situation has critically deteriorated for Jewish visitors.”

As an example, Feiglin said that “Four years ago, any citizen or tourist could go anywhere they chose on the Temple Mount. Now, even when as an MK, I attempted to enter the Dome of the Rock as a representative of Israeli sovereignty, the police officer prohibited my entry. He told me that that area is under Muslim sovereignty and that I could not enter.”

“Now, with the new accords,” Feiglin continued, “the Muslim wakf will decide the fate of Jews on the Temple Mount. This makes the situation worse.”

“If you do not think that the current wave of Arab violence is part of a broader strategic threat,” Feiglin continued, “you may think that it is a good idea to try to pacify the Arabs by conceding to their demands. But if you are willing to face Israeli reality, you see that when Israel concedes to the Arabs in order to keep the peace, it loses it legitimacy and its strategic position deteriorates.”

“When was Iran closer to a bomb to destroy us? Ten years ago or now?” Feiglin brought his point home. “The PM engaged in all kinds of verbal acrobatics, made beautiful speeches and conceded here and there. And strategically, Israel is in a worse place now than it was ten years ago. The Prime Minister doesn’t seem to understand that we are in a war.”

“Since the attempted assassination of Temple activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick a year ago,” Feiglin continued, “the PM has prohibited me from entering the Temple Mount. That is a reward for terror. The method of making concessions to terror on account of the not too distant future intensifies the flames of violence and brings them closer,” Feiglin concluded.