Mohammed Dahlan, a chief Fatah terrorist and top Palestinian Authority official, told Israel Radio in an interview that the Arabs are not interested in a third intifada, but that Israel was aggravating the situation by sending Jewish worshippers to pray on the Temple Mount. According to Dahlan, Israel's purpose is to "split" the Temple Mount into Jewish and Muslim areas, much as the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron is shared by worshippers.
Dahlan said that Jewish worshippers on the Temple Mount were, as far as the Arabs were concerned, a tragedy as terrible as a suicide bombing was for Jews.