Temple Mount. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel blasted a United Nations Security Council statement about the ongoing tension at the Temple Mount, saying the statement “completely ignores” both Palestinian violence and Jewish history at the holy site.

The Security Council said that “Muslim worshipers at the Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount in Arabic) must be allowed to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations.” It also said that “visitors should be without fear of violence or intimidation,” referring to attacks on Jewish and other non-Muslim visitors at the holy site.

“The members of the Security Council called for the exercise of restraint, refraining from provocative actions and rhetoric, and upholding unchanged the historic status quo” at the compound “in word and in practice,” said the U.N. statement.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor took issue with the statement for largely ignoring the Jewish people’s connection to the Temple Mount.

“This statement, which only uses the Arabic name for the Temple Mount, affirms the right of Muslims to be present an to pray at the compound, but completely ignores the Palestinian violence, the deep connection of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount, and the right of all to visit the site,” Prosor said.

“Instead of calming tensions, the Council sides with those who are trying to set the region on fire. When the Palestinians set the Temple Mount ablaze, Mahmoud Abbas fuels the fire, and the Security Council fans the flames, it is a recipe for a regional explosion,” he added.

Clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian rioters have been on the rise since last Sunday. Additionally, Jewish Jerusalem resident Alexander Levlovich was killed in a rock-throwing attack as he drove home from a Rosh Hashanah eve dinner.