A physical confrontation broke out Sunday evening between Hamas supporters and their Fatah adversaries on the Temple Mount outside of the al-Aqsa mosque.
The incident was the latest in a series of clashes between supporters of the two political factions, as support for Hamas continues to grow in the traditionally Fatah dominant area of east Jerusalem.
In a video shared on Twitter by KAN reporter Suleiman Maswadeh, Fatah supporters can be seen standing on the steps to al-Aqsa waving flags with the face of Yasser Arafat, the former PLO leader. They also chanted "we are the people of Abu Amar (Arafat)," showing their loyalty to their former leader who passed away in 2004.
פעילי פת"ח עם דגלי הארגון. pic.twitter.com/5IQ2JgZo12
— סולימאן מסוודה سليمان مسودة (@SuleimanMas1) May 23, 2021
This led to physical fights between the Fatah demonstrators and their Hamas rivals, who have been inciting violence on the Temple Mount for the last few weeks.
Many believe that Hamas intentionally incited riots and violence at al-Aqsa mosque and across East Jerusalem over Ramadan, which eventually led to the 12-day IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls. Hamas' operation, in which they and allied terror groups shot over 4,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, was known as the "The Sword of Jerusalem."
Large banners portraying Hamas terrorist leaders from the Gaza Strip were hung in front of the mosque over Eid al-Fitr and dozens of people gathered, waving Palestinian flags and chanting "oh God, give victory to Gaza."Just one week later, as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced, the scene repeated itself, this time with celebrations as the east Jerusalem supporters of Hamas hailed their so-called victory.
Tensions came to a head over the weekend between the two groups as the Palestinian Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, was expelled from al-Aqsa mosque during his own sermon by supporters of Hamas. Hussein is an associate of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, and was accused by the worshipers of being one of the "dogs of the Palestinian Authority."