- Jerusalem’s Ramadan amid tension
- Fears of provocation, violence rise
- Al-Aqsa could spark further conflict
As the Palestinians of occupied East Jerusalem prepare for the Islamic sacred month of Ramadan, the atmosphere is tense.
Observant Muslims are obligated to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual relations from dawn to dusk during Ramadan before breaking their fast with loved ones and communities.
However, they are too sad to decorate or participate in festivities.
Numerous individuals are merely supplicating for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza, where Israel has claimed the lives of over 31,000 individuals in retaliation for an October 7 assault by Palestinian armed fighters and the Qassam Brigades on Israeli military outposts and civilians.
Others are concerned that, as in the past, Israeli authorities and far-right settlers will launch attacks against Palestinians during the sacred month as part of a more extensive collective punishment campaign.
“I am extremely concerned about the possibility of provocation,” said East Jerusalem-based Palestinian human rights attorney Munir Nuseibah. “History has shown that an increase in police presence and intervention in East Jerusalem throughout Ramadan corresponds with a corresponding rise in violent confrontations.”
The past of violence
Anxiously prevailing throughout Ramadan is the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third sacred site in Islam. Although Palestinians from throughout the occupied West Bank desire to pray in the mosque, access has historically been blocked, and Israeli police have attacked worshippers.
Palestinians barricaded themselves within mosques last year to prevent Israeli police from interfering with itikaf, a religious practice involving the observance of entire nights of prayer and worship within mosques.
However, Israeli security forces were able to infiltrate the area and began indiscriminately assaulting devotees, including women and older people, while launching stun grenades and tear gas. A minimum of 450 Palestinian males were apprehended.
“Al-Aqsa and Ramadan do not possess an intrinsic sense of violence.” “It is crucial to bear in mind that certain individuals may misconstrue this as solely about Islam,” advised Daniel Siedmann, a resident of Jerusalem and legal professional.
The majority of the violence, according to Palestinians, is the result of provocative actions taken by Israeli authorities, who occupy the sacred site and the city.
Israeli law enforcement frequently grants access to the holy site to hundreds of Israeli Jews, who refer to the Al-Aqsa Mosque as the Temple Mount. This practice contravenes the most recent status quo agreement, reaffirmed by Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and the United States in 2015.
The agreement designates Al-Aqsa Mosque as an exclusively Muslim worship site, with non-Muslims permitted entry during designated days and hours. Many are concerned, however, that far-right Israeli ministers may attempt to incite Palestinians by allowing Israelis to enter the mosque and taunt or fight with congregants.
“All parties are apprehensive and fearful that Israeli settlers will attempt to incite Palestinians to resistance.” “The Israeli government is opposed to the Palestinian people,” stated Rony, a Palestinian national of 27 years residing in occupied East Jerusalem.
An instant of flashpoint?
The Israeli police are under the control of the far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. He advocated in February for prohibiting Palestinian residents of the West Bank from using mosques for Ramadan prayers.
Later, in an apparent effort to maintain calm in Jerusalem, Israeli officials disregarded his recommendation but did state that they would implement certain restrictions for “security reasons.”
Ben-Gvir, according to Seidmann, could still incite disorder despite commanding officers outside the compound.
He said, “Just because Ben-Gvir does not influence events at the Al-Aqsa gates does not mean he will not cause trouble 200 to 300 metres [220 to 330 yards] away from the mosque.”
Mass disturbance could be incited by any act of violence against Palestinian worshippers in East Jerusalem or the rest of the occupied West Bank, warns Christian Palestinian Ibrahim Matar, who is from occupied East Jerusalem.
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He recalled how the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat withdrew from the much-maligned peace process in 2000, in part because Israel persisted in maintaining sovereignty over the mosque. He stated that Al-Aqsa is symbolic for all Palestinians.
Ariel Sharon, then-leader of the Israeli opposition, stormed Al-Aqsa with over a thousand severely armed police officers and soldiers two months later. The action provoked national indignation that reached its zenith in the form of the second Intifada, a five-year-long Palestinian uprising against the occupation of Israel.
Matar hypothesises, in the aftermath of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, that a comparable action on the part of the Israelis could incite an additional phase of public unrest.
He said, “Al-Aqsa could serve as a flashpoint for another war.”
