PA to all Muslims: Jews are defiling Jerusalem, invading Al-Aqsa Mosque
When Jews prayed on the Temple Mount last month to commemorate the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem - by Babylon in 586 BCE and by Rome in 70 CE – the PA reacted with vicious antisemitic messages. The Jewish worshippers on the Temple Mount were said to have “defiled” and “invaded” Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Addressing the Arab nation as “O, brother,” the PA demonized Israelis and Jews, claiming they commit “despicable acts” and “fake history.” Regarding anything related to the Temples in Jerusalem, the PA uses the terms "fake history," "alleged" and "so-called" as part of their rewriting of history denying the thousands of years of Jewish presence in the land:
Official PA TV host: ”Dozens of settlers invaded the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas in occupied Jerusalem, this morning, for the alleged memorial day of the so-called Destruction of the Temple (i.e., Tisha B’Av).”
Song: “Brother, the oppressors have gone too far”
Official PA TV reporter: “O brother, you see them committing all the despicable acts in our land, and creating a fake history in the land of the history, the present, and the future. This is our mosque, and they have come to defile it with all the racism that they carry with them. Hundreds of them defiled the Muslims’ first direction of prayer (i.e., Jerusalem) in the days of the Hajj (i.e., Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). They defiled Jerusalem... O brother, the oppressors have gone too far in their occupation of a land that is not theirs.”
[Official PA TV News, twice on July 31, 2020]
In its news report, official PA TV played the song "Brother, the oppressors have gone too far," which the PA has used in the past to incite Palestinians to use violence. Palestinian Media Watch exposed that the PA recently broadcast this song whose words include the phrase “Jihad is necessary,” as part of its attempt to ignite violence and terror, in response to Israel's promised application of Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and Jewish towns in the West Bank.
The PA and its leaders intentionally misrepresent all of the Temple Mount as part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they vilify any presence of Jews on the mount as an "invasion" or a “break-in.” It should be clear that Jews who visit the Temple Mount only enter some sections of the open areas, and do not enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock.
The PA repeated this following the Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount on the 9th of Av, emphasizing that the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings – announcing that the entire Temple Mount including the Western Wall - are “for Muslims only, period”:
Official PA TV host: “The break-ins were numerous – over 1,000 settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque… Today the [Muslim] residents of Jerusalem responded. More than 27,000 worshippers prayed at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas, and made holiday calls of Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”) from the heart of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which the Palestinians and Muslims believe is a place of prayer for Muslims only, period. But the alleged Temple organizations and the occupation and its settlers strive to turn this conflict from political to religious… More than 1,000 settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the so-called memorial day of the destruction of the alleged Temple (i.e., Tisha B’Av).”
[Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, July 31, 2020]
PA Chairman Abbas himself has reiterated that the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are for Muslims only and that Jewish presence there “defile” them. The PA has also used its official TV station to spread this antisemitic demonization of Jews, claiming Israeli presence defiles the mosque, and to reiterate that “Muslims have the absolute right” to the Western Wall and Temple Mount– the holiest sites for Jews.
On the 9th of Av last month, PMW documented the different terms the PA uses to deny Jewish history in Jerusalem, such as “fabricated,” “forged,” “delusional myths,” “lies,” “libels,” “legends” etc.
The full lyrics of the song “Brother, the oppressors have gone too far” broadcast during the story on PA TV News about Jews on the Temple Mount, are as follows:
“Brother, the oppressors have gone too far
Therefore Jihad is necessary
and self-sacrifice is necessary...
How can we let them steal the Arabness -
the glory of the forefathers and the rule? ...
Draw your sword from its sheath, and
let it not return to the sheath afterwards...
Brother, rise to [Jerusalem],
the [first] direction of prayer
We will defend the church
and the mosque
Brother, if my blood will flow in the soil,
and my hand will lay on its stones
Then find a free soul that has refused
to let enemies step on it
Kiss a Martyr on the land, who called on
its behalf to Allah and fell as a Martyr...
Palestine, the young people
will redeem your territory
May the self-sacrificing fighter
and the redeemed [land] be exalted
Palestine, our chests will defend you - life or death”
Tisha B'Av - Jewish day of mourning commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem (586 BCE and 70 CE) and the forced exile of most of the Jewish people from the land of Israel.
“Temple organizations” refer to religious Jewish movements including the Temple Mount Institute, the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, the Initiative for Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount, and Students for the Temple Mount, which spread awareness of the importance of the Temple Mount in Judaism and encourage people to visit the site.