UN General Assembly approves 6 anti-Israel resolutions

Motions deny ties between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, say Israeli administration limits religious freedom on Temple Mount

A wooden footbridge leads up from the Western Wall to the Mughrabi Gate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, November 28, 2011. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90).
A wooden footbridge leads up from the Western Wall to the Mughrabi Gate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, November 28, 2011. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90).

The United Nations General Assembly approved six anti-Israel resolutions, including two that reject Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount is widely believed to be the location of the two ancient Jewish temples, which stood on the site in Jerusalem’s Old City for a total of nearly a thousand years.

The resolutions were passed on Friday.

The resolution on Jerusalem, which refers to the Temple Mount only by its Arab name of Haram al-Sharif and states that under Israeli administration of Jerusalem there is a lack of religious freedom, passed by a vote of 148 votes in favor, 11 against and 14 abstentions.

Other resolutions dealt with “the Syrian Golan,” “Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat,” and “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine,” among others. They passed by equally wide margins.

The Temple Mount is administered by the Waqf, a religious trust run and funded by Jordan. The site is holy to both Judaism and Islam and is a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to the prevailing status quo at the Temple Mount, Muslims have full prayer rights at the site, while Jews are allowed to visit but not pray. Visits by religious Jews are closely guarded by a police escort and Waqf representatives so as to ensure adherence to the rules.

The General Assembly is scheduled to vote Thursday on a US-sponsored resolution condemning Hamas for “indiscriminate attacks on civilians and primary role in the worsening humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza, and actions to restrict free expression and silence political dissent.”

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