BYE BYE GAZA - Barry Chamish

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greater political confrontation, or even of actual violence. In
those perilous circumstances, the division between
Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s Jewish
parts would become complete. This radical fragmentation of
the city is the predictable consequence of a sterile Israeli
policy denying manifestations of Palestinian sovereignty.
The consequences of Palestinian rigidity are equally
predictable. Today, Palestinian Muslims enjoy largely
unfettered access to the Haram al Sharif. But absent a peace
agreement, and most certainly after a unilateral declaration
of Palestinian statehood, Palestinian access to this area will
be curtailed by Israel. In the case of violence, it may well be
halted entirely.
In the name of protecting the unity of the city and
guaranteeing access to holy places in East Jerusalem, both
sides are in fact accomplishing the opposite. It is clear that
only by reaching an agreement that creates new levels of
sharing can the unity of Jerusalem and access to its holy
places can be enhanced.
Which brings us to the dirty little secret about
Jerusalem. Both Islam and Judaism have managed quite
well over the centuries (in the case of Judaism, for two
millennia) even when they did not exercise political
sovereignty on the Temple Mount, as they call the Haram
al Sharif. They would undoubtedly continue to manage
well without such sovereignty in the future.
What neither side can apparently imagine is yielding
sovereignty over its shrine to the adversary. It is Jewish
sovereignty over the Haram al Sharif and Muslim sovereignty
over the Temple Mount that most outrages the
religious/national sensibilities of Muslims and Jews, not the
absence of their own sovereignty.
This unpleasant truth suggests the solution ­ both sides
deferring indefinitely the issue of sovereignty over Temple
Mount/Haram al Sharif.