The Arab Revolutions and Jerusalem

Revolution in the Arab world is just getting started. In Libya, a NATO airstrike killed Qaddafi's son and grandchild, drawing criticism from Russia for going beyond the U.N. mandate. And yesterday in Daraa, Syrian troops were ordered to use "any means necessary" to crush the rebellion against President Bashar Assad. Meanwhile, Egypt's new justice minister has determined that Mubarak's wealth derived from profits from the country's gas deal with Israel.

Still under the impression that Arab revolutions are "good for Israel"? Now that the revolution momentum has spread, and the West has demonstrated its readiness to defend rebel groups, Palestinian leaders are eager for their slice of the cake, seeking to solicit support for their violent struggle for the heart of two thousand years of Jewish faith and peoplehood--Jerusalem (via Israel National News):

Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Israel Islamic Movement, said Sunday that the revolutions in Arab countries are the preliminary phase of the liberation of Jerusalem from what he called "the occupation". Speaking to reporters following a visit to Jordan on Friday, Sheikh Salah said that the government changes in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries came from the will of the people must be channeled against Israel, noting that the revolutions had returned the issue of Jerusalem and the Al-Aksa mosque to their natural place.

Salah went to Jordan to take part in an event commemorating the 7th century C.E. conquest of Jerusalem by Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab, the namesake of the Mosque of Omar on the Temple Mount, whose conquest went as far as Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Salah said Omar's conquests should not just be celebrated but should be remembered to bring about a new reality.

Jerusalem, in all its glory, is no more than a pawn in Islam's struggle against the presence of Jews in the land of Israel. For anyone who needs a refresher on the true place of Jerusalem in Muslim tradition, here is The Video They Don't Want the World to See (via Shirat Devorah).