HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1990 Temple Mount killings, or the Al Aqsa Massacre, also known as Black Monday, took place in the Al-Aqsa compound on the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
,
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
at 10:30 am on Monday, October 8, 1990, before
Zuhr prayer Dhuhr (, also transliterated as Zuhr, Duhr or Thuhr) is one of the five daily mandatory Islamic prayers (''salah''). It is observed after Fajr and before Asr, between the zenith of noon and sunset, and contains 4 ''rak'a'' (units). On Friday ...
during the third year of the
First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...
. Following a decision by the Temple Mount Faithful to lay the
cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...
for the Temple, mass riots erupted, In the ensuing clashes, 17
Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...
died, more than 150 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli security forces, and more than 20 Israeli civilians and police were wounded by Palestinians.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 672 United Nations Security Council resolution 672, adopted unanimously on 12 October 1990, after reaffirming resolutions 476 (1980), 478 (1980), the Council expressed alarm at the 1990 Temple Mount riots in Jerusalem on 8 October 1990, resulting ...
, which was rejected by Israel, "condemned especially the acts of violence committed by the Israeli security forces" and
United Nations Security Council Resolution 673 United Nations Security Council resolution 673, adopted unanimously on 24 October 1990, after reaffirming United Nations Security Council Resolution 672, Resolution 672 (1990), the Council deplored Israel's refusal to receive the mission of the ...
urged that Israel reconsider its refusal to allow
United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra ( , ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth secretary-general of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as prime min ...
to carry out an investigation.


Background

The
Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
is the holiest place on earth for Jews, a place where God manifested, and where the First and
Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
stood until they were destroyed. Moreover, the temple mount is the beginning and the end of the world in Jewish mystical belief. Muslims also view the site as holy and are apprehensive regarding a possible Jewish takeover. The location is currently known as Al-Aqsa and the central structure is a 7th century mosque. It is believed by Muslims to be the place where prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The site has been a recurring flashpoint. During the 1989
Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...
festival, the Temple Mount Faithful first attempted to march with a foundation stone to the mount. Prevented by police, this still provoked a violent reaction from Muslim worshipers who hurled stones at Jewish worshipers at the
Western Wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...
below. During 1990, the Muslim waqf erected pulpits and gardens in previously empty locations on the mount in order to head off a presumed Jewish encroachment. The Temple Mount Faithful appealed to the Israeli high court so that the antiquities law would be enforced so that ancient artifacts would not be destroyed. Due to the violent events of 1989, police placed strict restrictions on the planned 1990 Sukkot march with the foundation stone announcing in Jewish and Arab media that the Temple Mount Faithful would not be allowed near the mount. The faithful said they would march towards the mount nonetheless, and erect a
Sukkah A or succah (; ; plural, ' or ' or ', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic ...
. Muslim authorities called on Muslim believers to stop the march with their bodies, and on October 7 masked men went door to door in an Arab neighborhood demanding that residents participate. Palestinian media and
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
publicized the issue.


Events

According to
Anthony Lewis Joseph Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field o ...
:
Palestinians on the Temple Mount began throwing stones at Jews worshiping, on a religious holiday, at the Western Wall below. The only security forces present, 40 men from the paramilitary Israeli Border Police, used live ammunition on the Palestinians. They killed at least 21. There were no Israeli deaths. The Israeli Government claimed that the Palestinians brought the stones with them and staged the incident as a political provocation. The Temple Mount is a paved plain that usually has few if any stones. But at this time construction work did provide material for missiles. Zeev Schiff, the respected defense correspondent of the newspaper ''Haaretz'', said the Palestinians began throwing stones only after mosques in the nearby village of Silwan announced through loudspeakers that Jewish extremists had come there. The extremists were from the Temple Mount Faithful, who proposed to rebuild Solomon's Temple where the Al-Aqsa mosque now stands.


International response

On October 10, The United States proposed a resolution, supported by the United Nations Secretary-General,
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra ( , ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth secretary-general of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as prime min ...
, to investigate the al-Aqsa incident and to report back to the Security Council promptly. which was by far the most critical of Israel introduced by the United States. The UN issued the following resolution on October 12, 1990, referencing the event:
Res. 672 (Oct. 12, 1990) – "Expresses alarm at the violence which took place" on October 8, 1990, "at the Al Haram al Shareef and other Holy Places of Jerusalem resulting in over twenty Palestinian deaths and to the injury of more than one hundred and fifty people, including Palestinian civilians and innocent worshippers", "Condemns especially the acts of violence committed by the Israeli forces resulting in injuries and loss of human life", and "Requests, in connection with the decision of the Secretary-General to send a mission to the region, which the Council welcomes, that he submit a report to it before the end of October 1990 containing his findings and conclusions and that he use as appropriate all the resources of the United Nations in the region in carrying out the mission."
Israel ended up rejecting the resolution, saying it did not pay attention to attacks by rocks on Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall.Cuéllar, Javier Pérez de (1997). Pilgrimage for peace: a Secretary-General's memoir. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 96. . In turn, the UN Security Council unanimously backed UN Security Council Resolution 673 on October 24, 1990, condemning Israeli rejection of the UN fact finding mission.
Deplores the refusal of the Israeli Government to receive the mission of the Secretary-General to the region", and "Urges the Israeli Government to reconsider its decision and insists that it comply fully with resolution 672 (1990) and to permit the mission of the Secretary-General to proceed in keeping with its purpose.
Failing to get agreement from Israel, the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on October 31 published his report. In the report, he stated:
The Secretary-General has thus been unable to secure independent information on the spot, about the circumstances surrounding the recent events in Jerusalem and similar developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Widespread coverage has, however, been given by the international press to the clashes that occurred at Al-Haram Al-Shareef and other Holy Places of Jerusalem on 8 October 1990. According to reports, which vary, some 17 to 21 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 wounded by Israeli security forces, and more than 20 Israeli civilians and police were wounded by Palestinians. While there are conflicting opinions as to what provoked the clashes, observers on the spot, including personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), stated that live ammunition was used against Palestinian civilians. Attention is drawn, in this connection, to the fact that a number of inquiries have been conducted. Apart from the sraeliCommission of Investigation referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 7 above, several Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations have conducted inquiries of their own. The findings of two of them, B'Tselem and Al-Haq, were communicated to the Secretary-General, on 14 October and 28 October 1990, respectively, and are being issued separately as addenda to the present report.
Following the report,
United Nations Security Council Resolution 681 United Nations Security Council resolution 681, adopted unanimously on 20 December 1990, after receiving the report from the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar authorised in Resolution 672 (1990) regarding the riots at Temple Mount, t ...
on December 20, 1990, referring to Resolutions 672 and 673, called on Israel to apply the Fourth Geneva Convention to Palestinians in the occupied territories. In their Annual 1990 World Report
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
condemned the Israeli report on the incident as "only mentioning in passing the 'uncontrolled use of live ammunition' by police, giving scant attention to what should have been a central issue: the use of excessive force, including shooting into a crowd with bursts of automatic-weapon fire."


Israeli response

The Israeli Government claimed that the Palestinians brought the stones with them and staged the incident as a political provocation. The Temple Mount is a paved plain that usually has few if any stones. But at this time construction work did provide some stones. Israel rejected the UN resolution condemning the incident and calling for investigation, saying it did not pay attention to attacks on
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
worshippers at the
Western Wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...
, and that it was an interference in its internal affairs. Israel refused entry to the mission, with Resolution 673 urging Israel to reconsider its decision. On October 26, 1990, Israel issued a report concerning the violence and concluded that Israel police acted with prudence once it came under attack citing fear for the safety of policemen on Temple Mount. The report also had some criticism of the police for not assessing properly the situation and not being prepared with a larger force to deal with any eventuality.165 Summary of a Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Events on Temple Mount on October 8, 1990- October 26, 1990,

October 26, 1990
According to the Israeli "Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Events on Temple Mount on 8 October 1990":
The members of the Wakf knew that the High Court had refused the Temple Mount Faithful petition to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple, and did not respond to requests by Israel Police officers on the morning of the incident to calm the crowd. This, even after the police informed the Wakf that they would also prevent the Temple Mount Faithful, and anyone else, from visiting the area, though such visits are allowed by law.


Palestinian response

Palestinians claimed they threw missiles only after the police fired at them while the police claimed it was the other way around. The Higher Islamic Council commissioned a report on the events and submitted it to the United Nations on October 28, 1990. In the report the Palestinians claimed "Moslems threw stones at the soldiers only after they were shot at with live ammunition and tear gas, and then only to defend themselves and to stop the soldiers. Moslems did not in any way assault holy places and worshipers from other religions, an act which would be against the very essence of their religion."


See also

*
Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...
*
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...


Notes


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Mount killings 20th-century mass murder in Jerusalem Extrajudicial killings by the Israeli military Riots and civil disorder under Israeli Civil Administration Attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound First Intifada October 1990 in Asia Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 1990s Israeli massacres of Palestinians Massacres committed by Israel Massacres in 1990 1990 riots 1990 mass shootings in Asia Mass shootings in Jerusalem Riots and civil disorder in Jerusalem Mosque massacres in Asia Attacks on buildings and structures in 1990 20th-century attacks on mosques