Reuven Rivlin inaugurates Yitzhak Shamir stre
Reuven Rivlin inaugurates Yitzhak Shamir streFlash 90

President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday spoke during a ceremony dedicating a main Jerusalem street in the name of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, in which he spoke about the "silent intifada" of Arab terrorism gripping the capital city.

"It is no secret that Jerusalem is turbulent. Too many violent incidents occur in east as well as in west Jerusalem. This violence, which boils into terrorism, must be stopped, and severely dealt with by the security forces and police," said Rivlin.

The enforcement should come "even at the cost of forcible action against the rioters - whether Arab or Jew," the president continued. "Jerusalem cannot be governed by groups with an interest to inflame and stoke the fires at their will."

During the course of the "silent intifada," Jerusalem has suffered several incidents of live gunfire by Fatah terrorists, at least three near-fatal lynch-mob attempts against Jews in the area, and countless rock and firebomb attacks - including on an infant day care center.

According to Rivlin, Jerusalem "was not and will not be anybody's hostage, or political pawn. Jerusalem must be kept as a sovereign city with a responsibility to all its inhabitants, and maintaining the relations between them."

The statement comes after Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last Friday encouraged using "all means" to block "settlers" from entering the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Jerusalem, which has been wracked by constant violent Arab rioting.

"Jerusalem cannot be the city where the light rail, which provides service to all the city's residents, is attacked in such a way that threatens to destabilize the ability to lead a normal life in the city," said Rivlin. "Jerusalem cannot be a city, in which the building is done in secret, or whereby moving into apartments is done in the dead of night."

Regarding the comment on building, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been revealed to be "in secret" imposing a covert building freeze on Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, despite the severe housing crisis.

Rivlin continued "we must bear the responsibility to keep Jerusalem sovereign. ...I hope that in Yitzhak Shamir's spirit, we will know how to stand up for our undisputed right over Jerusalem, and through this right, treat her as a sovereign with all the responsibility that comes with it.”

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat also spoke at the event, and likewise in an interview outlined his plans for dealing with the terror threat. He denied that the Jerusalem Municipality is covering-up the attacks, after last month trying to hush-up the "silent intifada" because the reports about it were bad for business.