The talk in Israel about launching a large-scale “Operation Defensive Shield 2” against terror nests in east Jerusalem helps promote the perception that there is no difference between Isawiya, an Arab neighborhood in the city, and Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank.
This type of rhetoric blurs the distinction between Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The talk shifts the attention back to Jerusalem and diverts attention from the militias and armed groups that popped up in the northern West Bank over the past year. It also diverts attention from the ongoing efforts of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to accumulate weapons and prepare for the next war with Israel.
This is precisely what Hamas and PIJ have been seeking to achieve over the past few years – keeping Jerusalem at the center of the world’s attention, especially in light of the controversy surrounding visits by Jews to al-Aqsa Mosque compound (Temple Mount) and the evacuation of Arab families from houses in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Unity of the battlefields
In recent years, Hamas and PIJ have been talking about the “unity of the battlefields,” a reference to their attempt to establish a direct link between east Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They want to send a message that the “resistance” against Israel is taking place in all the “occupied territories,” including Jerusalem, and that what happens in one area affects the other.
The goal of the two groups (and other Palestinian parties) is to show that there is no difference between the Palestinians living in the three areas, and that they all share the same fate and face the same enemy – Israel.
Additionally, Hamas and PIJ aim to show that Israel does not differentiate between a Palestinian living under its sovereignty in Jerusalem and a Palestinian residing in the West Bank under the rule of the Palestinian Authority or in the Gaza Strip, which has been under Hamas control since 2007.
Isawiya, together with more than 25 other Arab neighborhoods, is located within the boundaries of the Jerusalem Municipality. The Arab residents living in these areas hold Israeli-issued ID cards, which grant them privileges and rights of Israeli citizens, with one exception: voting in the general elections. The Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, by contrast, hold Palestinian-issued ID cards and passports.
The eastern part of Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War. Unlike the West Bank, the IDF does not operate in the city. Instead, the Israel Police are in charge of enforcing law and order in the Arab neighborhoods, which are treated as an integral part of Israel.
Ben-Gvir playing into Palestinian hands
So, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir talks about launching a major military operation or imposing a closure on some Arab neighborhoods in the city, he is playing right into the hands of those Palestinians who are trying to place east Jerusalem on an equal footing with the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
And when Ben-Gvir talks about “nests of terror” in east Jerusalem, he’s making it appear as if hundreds of gunmen are roaming the streets of Isawiya, Beit Hanina and Ras al-Amud, as is the case in many parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The last four terror attacks – at the entrance to Jerusalem, Neveh Ya’acov, Silwan and Ramot – were carried out by individuals who were not part of any organized terror cell.
Operation Defensive Shield was a large military operation in the West Bank carried out in 2002 in response to a wave of suicide bombings and other terror attacks during the Second Intifada. The IDF used tanks and armored vehicles during the operation against dozens of gunmen, particularly in the northern West Bank.
Hamas and PIJ would love to see thousands of soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on the streets of Isawiya, literally across the street from the neighborhood of French Hill and the Hadassah hospital and Hebrew University. Such scenes will – in their view – serve as a reminder that, contrary to Israeli claims, Jerusalem is not a united city because half of the city is under “military occupation.”
The planned massive security crackdown in east Jerusalem will without question intensify tensions in the city, and possibly lead to more terror attacks. This is exactly what Hamas, PIJ and other Palestinian groups want. They hope collective punishment and tough security measures will drive more Palestinians into the arms of the extremists.
This is happening a few weeks before the holy month of Ramadan and as the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are working to mobilize the Arab and Islamic countries against Israel’s policies and actions, especially in Jerusalem.