AICE Update: Did Ariel Sharon's Temple Mount Visit Spark the Palestinian War?

American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise Weekly Update

Myths & Facts

Did Ariel Sharon's Temple Mount Visit Spark the Palestinian War?

To believe Palestinian spokesmen, the five-year Palestinian War - or Al-Aqsa intifada - was caused by the desecration of a Muslim holy place: Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount) by Likud leader Ariel Sharon and the "thousands of Israeli soldiers" who accompanied him for a visit in September 2000. The violence was carried out through unprovoked attacks by Israeli forces, which invaded Palestinian-controlled territories and "massacred" defenseless Palestinian civilians, who merely threw stones in self-defense. The only way to stop the violence, then, was for Israel to enter a cease-fire and remove its troops from the Palestinian areas. The truth is dramatically different...