Occupied East Jerusalem – The mood is tense in occupied East Jerusalem as the city’s Palestinians prepare for the holy month of Ramadan.
From dawn to sunset, Ramadan requires observant Muslims to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations before breaking their fast with friends, family and communities.
But Palestinians who spoke to Tel Aviv Tribune say they are too depressed to hang decorations or take part in festivities.
Many are simply praying for a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 31,000 people have been killed by Israel in retaliation for a deadly attack on Israeli civilians and military outposts by the Qassam Brigades and other armed fighters Palestinians on October 7.
Others fear that Israeli authorities and far-right settlers will attack Palestinians during the holy month as part of a broader campaign of collective punishment, as has happened before.
“I am really worried about a possible provocation,” said Munir Nuseibah, a Palestinian human rights lawyer who lives in East Jerusalem. “We have learned from the past that the more police presence and police intervention there is in East Jerusalem during Ramadan, the more (violent) clashes we will see. »
History of violence
During Ramadan, tensions frequently rise around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site. Palestinians across the occupied West Bank yearn to pray at the mosque, but Israeli police have consistently blocked access and attacked worshipers.
Last year, Palestinians decided to barricade themselves inside the mosque to prevent Israeli police from interfering with itikaf, a religious practice that involves spending entire nights in prayer and worship in mosques. .
But Israeli security managed to break through, firing stun grenades and tear gas and indiscriminately beating worshipers, including women and the elderly. At least 450 Palestinian men were arrested.
“There is nothing fundamentally violent about Al-Aqsa and certainly nothing fundamentally violent about Ramadan. It’s important to remember this because some people have the impression that this is all about Islam,” said Daniel Siedmann, a lawyer and Jerusalem resident.
Palestinians attribute most of the violence to provocative measures taken by Israeli authorities, who occupy the city and the holy site.
Israeli police often allow hundreds of Israeli Jews – who call the Al-Aqsa Mosque the Temple Mount – access to the holy site, violating the latest status quo agreement between Israel, Jordan, Palestine and the United States claimed in 2015.
The agreement stipulates that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, but grants access to non-Muslims on specific days and times. However, many fear that far-right Israeli ministers will try to provoke the Palestinians by allowing Israelis into the mosque to taunt or confront worshipers.
“Everyone is cautious and fears that Israeli settlers will try to provoke the Palestinians. The Israeli government is against the Palestinian people,” said Rony, a 27-year-old Palestinian from occupied East Jerusalem.
A flash point?
The Israeli police are controlled by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right Minister of National Security. In February, he called for banning Palestinian residents of the West Bank from praying at mosques during Ramadan.
Israeli officials later dismissed the suggestion in an apparent attempt to maintain calm in Jerusalem, but said they would impose some restrictions for “security reasons.”
Seidmann said Ben-Gvir could still cause chaos, even if he commands outside the compound.
“It is not because Ben-Gvir does not influence what happens at the gates of Al-Aqsa that he will not cause problems 200 or 300 meters from the mosque,” he said at Tel Aviv Tribune.
Any violence against Palestinian worshipers in East Jerusalem or the rest of the occupied West Bank could trigger mass unrest, warns Ibrahim Matar, a Christian Palestinian from occupied East Jerusalem.
He said Al-Aqsa is a symbol for all Palestinians and recalled how the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat withdrew from the much-criticized peace process in 2000, in part because Israel insisted on maintaining sovereignty over the mosque.
Two months later, Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition, stormed Al-Aqsa with more than 1,000 heavily armed police and soldiers. The decision sparked outrage that culminated in the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, which lasted five years.
In the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza, Matar believes that a similar move by the Israelis could trigger a new chapter of popular unrest.
“Al-Aqsa could be a flashpoint for another war,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
In the shadow of war
Palestinian citizens of Israel and those of the occupied territories say the ongoing bloodbath in Gaza hangs over everyone like a dark cloud.
US President Joe Biden has attempted to broker a truce in Gaza to reclaim Israeli captives still held by Hamas and ease tensions during Ramadan. But while prospects for a ceasefire appear slim, Rony believes the war will affect the situation between Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem.
He said many Palestinians are “dying inside” after watching scenes of the devastating war on television and social media. He also fears that Israeli officials or ministers will exploit their anger by harassing Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
“Most of us feel like we are in a prison. (We feel) like we have to stay at home to avoid being hit or harassed (during Ramadan),” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Matar agrees, adding that Gaza and Al-Aqsa have a symbiotic relationship. He recalled the short 11-day war between Hamas and Israel in 2021, sparked by the Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa worshipers and the expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Similar unrest could occur this Ramadan.
“If one part of Palestine suffers, then every part of Palestine suffers,” Matar told Tel Aviv Tribune.
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