ISRAELI HIGH COURT TO ALLOW TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 003316

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2016
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG PHUM IS
SUBJECT: ISRAELI HIGH COURT TO ALLOW TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL
ENTRY ONTO HARAM AL-SHARIF/TEMPLE MOUNT

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Jerusalem attorney Danny Seidemann confirmed to
ConGen Poloff an August 1 decision by the Israeli High Court
to grant entry by the Temple Mount Faithful -- an extreme
right-wing Israeli group dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish
temple on the site of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in the
Old City -- to enter the site during the August 3 Jewish
holiday of Tisha B'Av. (Note: Tisha B'Av, one of the most
solemn days in the Jewish tradition, commemorates the
destruction of the First and Second Temples. End note.)


2. (C) Seidemann translated from the Hebrew the text of
the High Court decision. According to Seidemann, the court
decision will allow members of the Temple Mount Faithful
(TMF):

-- To enter the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount during the
regular visiting hours on August 3 allotted to non-Muslim
visitors;

-- TMF members are forbidden to carry signs, wear garments,
or act in a conspicuous or provocative manner while on the
Temple Mount; and

-- In the event of any breach or change in circumstances, the
Israeli police may exercise their authority and prevent entry.


3. (C) Seidemann further noted that unlike previous court
decisions that denied entry onto the Haram al-Sharif/Temple
Mount to the TMF on the basis that their presence represented
a clear and present danger, the August 1 decision places a
burden on the police to justify preventing the group's entry.
He suggested that timing of the court decision amounts to
"throwing gasoline" on an already tense situation. He
surmised that Israeli PM Olmert, who is primarily focused on
the situation in Lebanon, would likely not intervene in the
matter without USG intervention.

Comment
--------------


4. (C) The timing of this Israeli High Court decision
could not come at a more tense moment in the region. The
mixture of fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, demonstrations in
the West Bank and Gaza condemning Israeli military action,
and the one-year anniversary of the start of Israel's
disengagement from Gaza, threatens to become further inflamed
by this court decision. Israeli settlers and their
supporters are conducting a march from downtown Jerusalem to
the Western Wall August 1 to commemorate the one-year
anniversary of the Gaza withdrawal. The court decision,
which has yet to reach the Palestinian public, is likely to
elicit calls to confront the TMF on August 3.

WALLES