Be Vigilant

“Moderate” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday threatened war over Israel’s decision to officially recognize the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb as national heritage sites.

The Cave of the Patriarchs – the burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah – and Rachel’s Tomb are both located in areas that are today controlled by the Palestinian Authority, namely, Hebron and Bethlehem.

Speaking to European Union parliamentarians in Brussels, Abbas said that the Israeli cabinet’s decision to add those sites to its list of national heritage sites is a “dangerous provocation” that will lead to “religious war.”

In practical terms, the decision will not effect any changes in the status of the sites, but rather will give them higher priority for refurbishment and preservation.

“Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarch – the burial place for more than 3,500 years of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people – are certainly worthy of being refurbished and preserved,” said Israeli government spokesman Nir Hefetz in a statement released to the press.

Mark Regev, another Israeli government spokesman, noted that denying the Jews their religious and historical ties to the land is not the way to make peace.

“Just as Israel understands the Muslim connection to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, we are entitled to hear from the Palestinian side that they respect our connection to a site that is very important to the Jewish people,” Regev was cited by The Jerusalem Post as saying. “It is disappointing to hear other messages from the Palestinian leadership.”

As usual, the Palestinians found an ally in the UN regarding this issue.

On Monday, special UN coordinator for the Middle East, Robert Serry said he was deeply concerned by the Jewish state’s audacity in officially recognizing its ties to two sites so sacred to Jews.

Source : Israeltoday

America joins criticism of Israeli heritage sites

The Obama Administration on Wednesday added its voice to those harshly condemning Israel over its official recognition of the Cave of the Patriarch and Rachel’s Tomb as national heritage sites.

The Cave of the Patriarch in Hebron – burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah – and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem joined a list of 150 other historical and biblical sites that Israel will give priority to for renovation and preservation.

But because Hebron and Bethlehem are under Palestinian Authority control, the decision has angered the Arab world and prompted threats of “holy war,” even by “moderate” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

That has led international leaders to condemn Israel’s decision to officially recognize two sites so sacred to the Jewish people. Though few in Israel expected the US to join in on the latest bash-fest.

Nevertheless, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner labeled Israel’s heritage site list a “provocation” and an obstacle to peace.

Israelis have explained that by constantly reprimanding Israel in such terms, the US, the ostensible overseer of peace efforts in the region, is the one making peace more difficult by giving the Palestinians the justification they need to never make true peace with the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday responded to the mounting international criticism by pointing out that being added to the heritage list simply means that those sites will receive more attention in terms of preservation, including the Muslim areas at the Cave of the Patriarchs.

Source : Israeltoday