Germany criticises Israel’s East Jerusalem settlement plans

The attack was the latest in a two month outburst of assaults that Israel has struggled to contain. It is headed by Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, the former mayor of Umm el-Fahm in central Israel, and the founder and head of the al-Aqsa Institution for Maintaining the Islamic Sacred Places, a charity that funds restoration projects inside of Jerusalem’s holy sites complex, and one of the relief societies ordered closed this morning.

Israel has beefed up security across the country in recent weeks in light of the attacks, sending soldiers to patrol cities alongside thousands of police. By demonstrating tough love, the U.S. can fulfill its moral obligation to best serve Israel’s national security and preserve it as an independent Jewish and democratic state, which for almost all Israelis is their most cherished dream. Authorities also froze the group’s bank accounts and the government said activists could be subject to arrest if they violate the ban.

“All these measures taken by the Israeli establishment are unjust and unacceptable”, Salah said in a statement, calling it “blatant injustice”.

Erdan’s statements reflects Israel’s propensity to obfuscate Palestinians’ political concerns under the rubric of terrorism, as well as this rhetorical move’s increasing currency the wake of ISIS’s attacks in Paris on Saturday.

Salah was sentenced earlier this year to 11 months in prison for incitement to violence and racism over an inflammatory sermon he delivered in 2007 in Jerusalem.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that “there is a coalition committed to an anti-Israel agenda”, whose members “cynically abuse [South Africa’s] justice system in order to advance a hostile agenda against Israel”.

It has been behind a campaign alleging that the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem is “in danger”, stoking fears that Israel plans to change rules governing the site, which Netanyahu has repeatedly denied.

The current violence began in mid-September over rumors that Israel was trying to expand the Jewish presence at the hilltop compound that houses the mosque. The status quo holds that only Muslims are allowed to pray on the mount, which is also the holiest site in Judaism, revered as the site of the two biblical Temples.

Head of the Joint Arab List Ayman Odeh asserted the banning was politically motivated and strategically timed after the Paris attacks on Friday to suggest a link between the Israel-based group and ISIS.

Sixth, the EU’s growing stakes in peace: Given the increasing turmoil in the Middle East, the European Union is more eager than ever before to play a larger role in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which they view as another flash point that adds more fuel to the regional fire.

Jerusalem Post reported in January 2015 that there has been a 92 percent increase in Jewish visits to al-Aqsa since 2009. “It’s not just a religious symbol, and he calls to defend it”, Bartal said.