An awkward clash in the Hebrew, Muslim and Georgian calendars is exacerbating tensions in the capital this year. Jerusalem Day on Monday, which celebrates the reunification of the city in the 1967 Six Day War, coincides with the last days of Ramadan. At the end of the week, Palestinians also mark Nakba Day – the “Catastrophe” – the date when the State of Israel was established in 1948.
Since the start of Ramadan this year, there has been a particularly high level of tension and clashes, which started when Palestinian youths filmed themselves attacking Jews in the city, and then rioted at the placement of security barriers at Damascus Gate. Police said the barriers were needed to protect the worshipers going to al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Following the Palestinian protests and international attention, the barriers were removed but the rioting continued.
The inauspicious timing of the possible eviction of long-term Arab residents from Jewish-owned property in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, after a long legal battle, has also turned the area into a site of violent protests.
Part of the problem, as The Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh has noted, is the rivalry between Gaza-based Hamas and the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank, particularly following PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s cancellation of elections. Hamas had high hopes of winning the elections scheduled for May 22 and taking over both of the Palestinian population centers.
Israel is an easy target from Hamas’s viewpoint and Jerusalem is always a useful religious battle cry. Hence, the terrorist group has recently renewed sporadic rocket fire, incendiary balloons and protests – day and night – along the border. Similarly, there has been an increase in attacks on Jews, such as the shooting of three yeshiva students at Tapuah Junction in Samaria, which resulted in the death of 19-year-old Yehuda Guetta.
In Jerusalem, too, there have been attacks including rocks being thrown at cars driven by Jews.
The counter protests by the radical Lehava group and others do not, of course, help the situation: on the contrary.
On Saturday night, some 100,000 Muslim worshipers gathered on the Temple Mount. Most were obviously intent on praying on one of the holiest nights of the Muslim calendar. Others, however, had different intentions. They threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and fireworks at police who responded with riot control tactics. The Palestinian rioters, incidentally, chanted not only about “liberating al-Aqsa” but also liberating Tel Aviv.
Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples once stood and where the Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock now stand, is Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest. Deliberately storing weapons and launching an attack from there is a desecration for all.
Religious tension is running high on both sides.
All eyes will be focused on the capital on Monday when Jews, mainly from the Right and national-religious sector, plan to hold the traditional Flag Parade, which usually proceeds into the Muslim Quarter of the Old City via Damascus Gate, ending at the Western Wall below the Temple Mount. Extremists have turned the event into anything but a celebration, deliberately hassling and provoking Muslim residents, marring the whole event.
The lack of an effective government also hinders the formulation of a response to the volatile situation.
There have been calls this year for the route to be changed: to enter the Old City either via Jaffa Gate or the Dung Gate. We agree. Change is needed and now is the time to be smart, not right.
Everything must be done to maintain deterrence vis-a-vis terrorist organizations that threaten Israel on the one hand, while at the same time preserving stability and calm as much as possible.
This means not only acting to stop the wave of terror before it becomes full-blown, but also preventing the physical clashes and friction between Palestinians and Jews.
Preventing an escalation while preserving freedom of movement and worship will be a delicate tightrope to walk, but care must be taken to stop the exploitation of extremists – on either side.
Those looking for trouble need to be stopped before they find it. Now is the time for both sides to focus on celebration rather than escalation.