PA daily op-ed: "There is and never has been any sort of Temple... in Palestine... [Israelis] have not found a single thing connected to Judaism in all of Palestine, and not just in Jerusalem"
Excerpt of op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, regular columnist of the official PA daily
Headline: "Guterres, apologize"
"The world was optimistic regarding Mr. Antonio Guterres recently taking up his role as UN secretary-general... but apparently the optimism was misplaced, since someone who wants to carry out a reform and advance the UN does not deviate from the UN's own charter, its resolutions, and laws. He is wiser and more courageous when taking political stances, and does not volunteer judgements according to caprices and narrow interests. Antonio Guterres clearly and explicitly sinned against peace and the Palestinian-Israeli political agreement when he claimed yesterday [Jan. 29, 2017] in an interview with the Hebrew-language Voice of Israel [radio] that he 'believes in the connection between Jerusalem and the Jews.' In contradiction to the UNESCO resolutions, history, and facts, the secretary-general claimed that it is as clear as day - in his opinion which is far from the truth and the facts - that 'The Temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Romans was a Jewish Temple'...
Mr. Antonio, if you care about history and if it is important to you, [you should know that] Jerusalem and all of Palestine - from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea - are the land of the Palestinian people, and their history is its history. The establishment of Israel on the basis of international [UN] partition resolution 181 which was made in November 1947, and the fact that the Palestinian people agrees to peace and the two-state solution on the basis of the June 4, 1967 borders, in no way change the history of Palestine; Jerusalem is Palestinian Arab. It belongs only to the followers of Islam and Christianity, and not Judaism, but this does not prevent followers of the Jewish religion from visiting it. What is called the 'Wailing' Wall is nothing but the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall). There is and never has been any sort of Temple of Prophet Suleiman (i.e., King Solomon) in Palestine. The Israelis have been excavating for nearly 100 years throughout the length and breadth of the land since occupying it in its entirety in June 1967 (sic., 50 years), and they have not found a single thing connected to Judaism (sic., numerous Jewish artifacts have been unearthed -Ed.) in all of Palestine, and not just in Jerusalem...
The great sin which the new secretary-general committed regarding Palestinian Arab (Islamic-Christian and humanity's) Jerusalem obligates him to immediately apologize to the Palestinian people and its leadership, and to fix this by declaring a clear, explicit, and direct standpoint that is consistent with the resolutions of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO...
Since taking the role of UN secretary-general, you are not representing yourself. You are representing the entire UN, with all of its peoples, states, resolutions, conventions, and laws. Therefore, you are not authorized to openly express everything that comes to your mind or your caprices and the caprices of the rogue states that you fawn over, and particularly Israel and its ally America. So will you have the courage and admit this in order to fix the scandalous sin?"
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On Jan. 29, 2017, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was interviewed by Benny Avni of the Voice of Israel radio station. In the interview Guterres discussed the rise in Antisemitism in both Europe and the US, saying that it is a "dangerous trend" and that what particularly worries him about it is that it is "directly impacting Jewish communities," and that "people are attacked." He also noted that the Antisemitism against Jewish communities does not seem to be related to the State of Israel.
Regarding the discrimination against Israel in the UN, Guterres said: "Israel needs to be considered as a state as the same as all the others with exactly the same rights and obligations and without any form of discrimination."
Addressing the issue of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple that stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Guterres stated that: "It is clear to me that the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, was a Jewish temple. As it is clear for me today that Jerusalem is today a holy city for three religions. These are the facts that nobody can deny."
Questioned about his plans regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the peace process, Guterres answered: "I have no initiative planned. I am a strong believer in the two-state solution... what I believe is necessary is that the two parties come together and find an agreement to have peace."
UNESCO Resolution on “Occupied Palestine” - On Oct. 13, 2016, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution, UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.
The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.
The countries voting for the resolution were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Those voting against it were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
Mexico later noted for the record that its position on the issue is one of abstention, although the vote count was unaffected.
On Oct. 14, 2016, Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova indicated her opposition to the proposal, making the following statement: “The heritage of Jerusalem is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship with the city... To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. When these divisions carry over into UNESCO, an organization dedicated to dialogue and peace, they prevent us from carrying out our mission."
Headline: "Guterres, apologize"
"The world was optimistic regarding Mr. Antonio Guterres recently taking up his role as UN secretary-general... but apparently the optimism was misplaced, since someone who wants to carry out a reform and advance the UN does not deviate from the UN's own charter, its resolutions, and laws. He is wiser and more courageous when taking political stances, and does not volunteer judgements according to caprices and narrow interests. Antonio Guterres clearly and explicitly sinned against peace and the Palestinian-Israeli political agreement when he claimed yesterday [Jan. 29, 2017] in an interview with the Hebrew-language Voice of Israel [radio] that he 'believes in the connection between Jerusalem and the Jews.' In contradiction to the UNESCO resolutions, history, and facts, the secretary-general claimed that it is as clear as day - in his opinion which is far from the truth and the facts - that 'The Temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Romans was a Jewish Temple'...
Mr. Antonio, if you care about history and if it is important to you, [you should know that] Jerusalem and all of Palestine - from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea - are the land of the Palestinian people, and their history is its history. The establishment of Israel on the basis of international [UN] partition resolution 181 which was made in November 1947, and the fact that the Palestinian people agrees to peace and the two-state solution on the basis of the June 4, 1967 borders, in no way change the history of Palestine; Jerusalem is Palestinian Arab. It belongs only to the followers of Islam and Christianity, and not Judaism, but this does not prevent followers of the Jewish religion from visiting it. What is called the 'Wailing' Wall is nothing but the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall). There is and never has been any sort of Temple of Prophet Suleiman (i.e., King Solomon) in Palestine. The Israelis have been excavating for nearly 100 years throughout the length and breadth of the land since occupying it in its entirety in June 1967 (sic., 50 years), and they have not found a single thing connected to Judaism (sic., numerous Jewish artifacts have been unearthed -Ed.) in all of Palestine, and not just in Jerusalem...
The great sin which the new secretary-general committed regarding Palestinian Arab (Islamic-Christian and humanity's) Jerusalem obligates him to immediately apologize to the Palestinian people and its leadership, and to fix this by declaring a clear, explicit, and direct standpoint that is consistent with the resolutions of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO...
Since taking the role of UN secretary-general, you are not representing yourself. You are representing the entire UN, with all of its peoples, states, resolutions, conventions, and laws. Therefore, you are not authorized to openly express everything that comes to your mind or your caprices and the caprices of the rogue states that you fawn over, and particularly Israel and its ally America. So will you have the courage and admit this in order to fix the scandalous sin?"
Click to view bulletin
On Jan. 29, 2017, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was interviewed by Benny Avni of the Voice of Israel radio station. In the interview Guterres discussed the rise in Antisemitism in both Europe and the US, saying that it is a "dangerous trend" and that what particularly worries him about it is that it is "directly impacting Jewish communities," and that "people are attacked." He also noted that the Antisemitism against Jewish communities does not seem to be related to the State of Israel.
Regarding the discrimination against Israel in the UN, Guterres said: "Israel needs to be considered as a state as the same as all the others with exactly the same rights and obligations and without any form of discrimination."
Addressing the issue of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple that stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Guterres stated that: "It is clear to me that the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, was a Jewish temple. As it is clear for me today that Jerusalem is today a holy city for three religions. These are the facts that nobody can deny."
Questioned about his plans regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the peace process, Guterres answered: "I have no initiative planned. I am a strong believer in the two-state solution... what I believe is necessary is that the two parties come together and find an agreement to have peace."
UNESCO Resolution on “Occupied Palestine” - On Oct. 13, 2016, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution, UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.
The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.
The countries voting for the resolution were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Those voting against it were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
Mexico later noted for the record that its position on the issue is one of abstention, although the vote count was unaffected.
On Oct. 14, 2016, Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova indicated her opposition to the proposal, making the following statement: “The heritage of Jerusalem is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship with the city... To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. When these divisions carry over into UNESCO, an organization dedicated to dialogue and peace, they prevent us from carrying out our mission."
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