But…but….they really, really, really want peace! “Hamas: War will settle Jerusalem dispute, not talks,” by Jack Khoury for Haaretz, October 25 (thanks to Alexandre):
Following a conflagration of violence at Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal declared that “Jerusalem’s fate will be decided with jihad (holy war) and resistance, and not negotiations.”
Clashes between Israeli police and youths armed with rocks broke out Sunday at the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount compound, home of the Muslim holy site, the al Aqsa mosque. The confrontation was apparently sparked by radical Jewish clerics’ call to their followers to go up to the compound, and by calls by radical Muslim clerics for their followers to defend the site.
Meshal, in Damascus, voiced hope that Israel’s Arabs and the residents of the West Bank would join the residents of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, in staging demonstrations in protest of the Jerusalem events, Israel Radio reported.
Typical evasion of responsibility on the Muslim side comes today from Jordan:
Meanwhile, Jordan warned the Israel Police and religious Jewish radicals on Sunday that further provocation at the compound would “fuel violence in the region and jeopardize peace efforts”.
“Any new provocative attempts by Israeli troops and Jewish extremists such as what happened today in the shrine’s compound represents a flagrant violation of international law and conventions and sets the stage for more tension and acts of violence,” Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communication Nabil Sharif said in a statement.
“Jordan, out of its historical responsibilities in being the custodian of the holy places in Jerusalem, is extremely worried about what is taking place and warns against going ahead with this provocative behavior on the part of Israeli troops,” he added.
Sharif urged “an immediate end to such dangerous practices which threaten to derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region”….