On Monday, Israel will commemorate the 54th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem which occurred during the 1967 Six Day War. On Thursday evening, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends with the feast of Eid al-Fitr. Meanwhile there have been repeated clashes for days between Jews and Arabs throughout the period of Ramadan at the Damascus Gate entry to the Old City of Jerusalem. There have been intermittent confrontations as well on the Temple Mount outside of the Al Aqsa Mosque. Finally, the Israeli High Court is scheduled to render its opinion tomorrow concerning the eviction of the Arabs living since 1948 in Sheikh Jarrah village outside the walls of the Old City. The decision of the High Court, which had been pending could just as well have been scheduled to be rendered after the conclusion of Ramadan.
To add to the tension, for the first time this year the Jerusalem police have forbidden Muslims from congregating in the evening on the steps of the Damascus Gate to celebrate after they have ended their day-long fasts. This unnecessary restriction has precipitated much of the tension with the police who have been supported largely by radical Israelis and people from the settlements resulting in serious injuries on all sides.
All parties, meanwhile, are bracing for the Jerusalem Day march. This custom which has developed over the years is for religious Zionists—primarily young high school students—to walk through the city of Jerusalem into the Old City. Their route includes going through the Muslim Quarter on the way to the Kotel or Western Wall of the Second Temple; invariably creating tension between Arabs and Jews.
It appears that no parties to the nightly confrontations in Jerusalem gave serious consideration to the consequences of their action. The Israeli Arabs as well as Muslims both in the Middle East and throughout the entire world have been unnecessarily riled up. The new head of the Jerusalem police department clearly must have been following instructions from the mayor of Jerusalem or the national Israeli authorities.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is struggling for his political life. He is not interested in alienating any supporters on his right whom he desperately needs to assuage. Bibi will score no points in intervening with the High Court to postpone the timing of its pronouncement, which is guaranteed to fan the confrontation both in Sheikh Jarrah and throughout the country. More extremist right-wing Jewish groups have escalated their militancy. The rest of the nation is watching at the failure of the government leaders to focus on governing and not on patching together a governing coalition.
Radical Muslim groups on the West Bank and in Gaza already were seething over the reduced supply of Covid-19 vaccines which they have received. Hamas and more militant groups are believed to be preparing or considering a third intifada. In the Arab world generally, there are concerns about the on-going violence in Jerusalem and they have expressed their anger at Israeli actions.
Israel globally is being battered as well. In the international community as well as in the U.S. there are strong protests and concerns being expressed at Israel’s inability to control the violence. All the parties vying for Israeli leadership will find that the Biden Administration will have a very low tolerance if this confrontation persists and escalates.
Sadly, this is occurring less than ten days after the tragedy in Meron, which evoked extraordinary expressions of condolence and sympathy from many sources among Israeli Arabs and in the Arab world. Now, unnecessary confrontations have taken over and appear ready to explode.
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