PA falsely claims that the Jew's history in Jerusalem "exists only in his mind, passed from generation to generation from an ancient myth"
Excerpt of an op-ed by Bassem Barhoum, regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, Jerusalem is not a heap of old stones”
“Every time the Israeli occupation state goes to sleep thinking that it has succeeded in Judaizing Jerusalem and containing the [Arab] residents of Jerusalem, it wakes up the next day to a shock and a strong slap on the cheek: It is impossible to contain the Palestinian people, and it will continue to resist the occupation.
Why is it impossible to tame and contain the Palestinian residents in Jerusalem? Why do the residents of Jerusalem surprise the occupying regime time after time and generation after generation, and every time their resistance is fiercer? The answer lies in the way the two sides view the city…
The Zionist views Jerusalem as a heap of old stones. He wants to rule over it in order to rummage through it, searching for a history that exists only in his mind, which has passed from generation to generation from an ancient myth (sic., an abundance of archaeological evidence has proven Jewish history in Jerusalem). If the history is not found by rummaging in the heap of stones, he will work to rebuild this heap in a way that will suit his history only, and not of anyone other than him.
As for the Palestinian citizen, [Jerusalem] is his physical space. It is his city, it is the neighborhood where he lives, it is his home that has passed naturally from generation to generation. Jerusalem is his history and his present, and he does not view a future for himself outside of it or without it…
The Zionist views Jerusalem as justification for the narrative of his colonialist Zionist expansion project. Without Jerusalem, his narrative collapses like a sandcastle. Therefore, he views the city from a colonialist racist perspective. He wants exclusivity over the site and its history. He wants to rule over it by force and change its cultural characteristics in order to legitimize his foreign presence in Jerusalem.”