Sunday, February 28, 2010

A row about holy places threatens to engulf the Holy Land in new violence

Fanning the flames
The Economist
"The leaders of Israel and Palestine, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, are trying, separately, to contain a week-long wave of riots in West Bank cities that threatens to turn into a new Palestinian uprising. Yet the two men themselves ignited the religious passions that fuel this latest violence. And, while they now seek to control the flames, they are both still feeding them with disingenuous, incendiary statements, instead of putting them out.

Mr Netanyahu bears the primary responsibility. On February 21st he announced that the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem would be listed among some 150 national heritage sites that his government proposes to refurbish."

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