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Tensions
have risen in the precincts of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
Dozens of Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli police. Can
violence escalate further and what should be the response of Israeli and Palestinian leaders?
Al-Aqsa Mosque is sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians. With the Ramadan
Passover and Easter taking place at the same time this year, tensions are
high, especially in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police forcibly dispersed
Palestinian worshipers who had set up barricades to prevent the entry of
far-right Jewish groups. Palestinians view such visits as provocative and some of
them have been arrested. Paramedics say they were stopped from helping the
injured. Jews are banned from praying or performing rituals in the compound and the ultra-nationalist groups want to change that.
Recent development:
The
545 Jewish visitors, who arrived at the Al-Aqsa
compound during their scheduled three-hour visit, left it, but before
that 20 people were injured. Five of them were taken to hospital and a total of
18 people have been arrested, according to Israeli police. Four of them were arrested for vandalizing buses carrying Jewish visitors. Israeli police say, they entered the
compound this morning. Palestinian rioters were collecting stones and
boulders and building barricades or trying to build barriers that could prevent
Jewish visitors from entering the compound
through a designated gate. The Israelis actually have a key and access to this
particular gate.
Some of the most volatile periods of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been centered around a man-made hill in the old city of occupied East Jerusalem. Muslims call it Haram Sharif or Holy Haram because it has two of Islam's holiest sites, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of Rock. The Jews call the hill the Temple Mount and revere the area at its base, which is called the Western Wall. With so many important religious sites in one small place, the situation around the hill remain often tense. Any change in the status quo or threat to any of the holy sites could lead to immediate unrest. Violence at the compound last year triggered missile strikes on Israel from Gaza, followed by the 11-day Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds of people. Al-Aqsa tensions morph into escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis. At least 14 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks in Israeli cities since March 22. Israeli forces have killed at least 16 Palestinians in raids, shootings, and arrests in the occupied West Bank.
How far might we see the violence escalate?
It
depends on the Israeli government. The current Israeli government is being held
hostage by the right-wing ideology. They are trying to change the status quo on the
Haram Sharif and allow Jewish fanatics to enter the courtyards of the mosque.
There was also a violent attack inside the built mosque. So if the
Israeli government continues these actions, I am afraid it will not stop where
it is, but the situation will escalate further. This is something we should not
all be looking for. (Ziad) Extremists
on both sides are provoking each other. (Novik, N)
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Importance of Al Aqsa mosque compound:
It
is important to understand that this is not just a temple, it is the whole
concept of a city-- the city of Jerusalem. It has been politicized since the
moment it was founded by David. He chose this side simply because it was
politically easy to alarm and unite the northern tribes and the southern
tribes. If you look back at the period of Islam, Abdul Malik
thought that it was a good way for him to use this place to build a dome of the rock, a very important monument, as a means to counter
his own troubles with al-Zubair who was rebelling against him and
drove him out of Makkah. Then if we go back to the modern era and consider how
the Zionist movement itself actually viewed Jerusalem, they were very indifferent
to it and were not connected to it. They did not consider it necessary for
the foundation of their state and in fact many of its important founders, for
example, Theodor Herzl would
write that he was shocked by the mess. David Ben-Gurion hasn't visited it for the first three years of his office.
Read more: Middle East Crisis
Religion or Politics: the cause of conflict
When you have three very important religious holidays, events, celebrations at the same time and you are in a very dire political situation because not only a political color has been given to this place, but also the extreme tensions are associated with these religious events. It is important to note that Jews, Muslims, and Christians have coexisted and lived together for centuries in different eras. So when they do not, it is usually because of politics. (Al Azm)
Disconnect between Palestinian leadership and Palestinians:
What
is happening inside the old city of Jerusalem and the
mosque cannot be controlled by the Palestinian leadership, nor by any other
political movement, Hamas, or by anyone else. This is the reaction of
the people. Now if we want to change this situation we have to go back to how
we were living with Jews, Muslims, and Christians. There
were no afflictions, no problems. But as I said before, they are
trying to alter the situation. There was a time when the court ruled that Jews
could go to the mosque, but the police will decide whether they can go or not depending on the public order. And every time police said that if they allowed Jews to go to the mosque, there will be a disturbance of public order and safety. So, they would not let them go to the mosque and they did not enter
the mosque and there was no problem. Now we see that the police are protecting
them and trying to evacuate the mosque from the Muslim
worshipers so that the Israelis can be brought inside to pray. (Ziad)
A
Jewish Halachah did not allow Jews to enter the mosque. They
are Zionists, fanatics, and nationalists. They are not religious. They call
themselves secular. They are trying to achieve the national goal by going to
the mosque. We must not allow these fanatical to decide the future of Palestinians'
relations with Israel. There is a very fragile situation. We must try to avoid any
kind of clashes, and bloodshed and find ways to move towards a solution that
compels us to live together. This government is not the government that can do
it and unfortunately, we see that the right-wing has more power all the time and they are taking us to an area where we do not want to
be.
Way out?
This is probably the hottest place on earth due to the convergence of the three monotheistic religions. Regardless of the basis of facts in history, I will not dare to challenge the faith of others and will not accept others who challenge my faith. We have three of the world's leading religious people who consider it one of the most valuable places in the world. Thus, when we have a moment when all three religions have three holidays together, you can really create an explosive situation unless there is a political solution that explains what is what and what belongs to what. We have failed to do that in the last decades. I hope the next generation of leaders will be the wisest. In the current situation, all leaders must keep calm and deal with the extremists who are trying to provoke the situation and trying to present their own specific views.
Since 2002, Israel has had a systematic policy of gradually changing the conditions of the Haram Sharif and allowing Jews to enter the courtyards of the Haram Sharif. In recent years, they were allowing them to pray and perform religious ceremonies. This policy is tantamount to playing with a time bomb. I do not agree that there are extremists on both sides. For Palestinians, this is a popular reaction. Jews are touching a very sensitive nerve which is a Haram Sharif and the people who are reacting in recent days are not fanatics or extremists. They were, on average, Palestinians who resist any attempt to convert mosques into synagogues or to divide the mosque, as Jews did in Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron. What can leaders do is respect the status quo that was agreed upon during the Ottoman rule from 1854 to 55 that each religion has its place. When it comes to the Western Wall, there is a rule from the court that Israelis do not have control over the wall, but can pray in front of the wall. What happened in 1967 when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, they demolished the entire quarter which is called The Moroccan Quarter neighborhood. We agreed in the Camp David talks that the area in front of the western wall would be under Jewish control and that they could deliver religious sermons. Haram Sharif will be controlled by Muslims. But what is happening now is that they are trying to enter Haram Sharif. It is naïve to think that they can change this situation and that Muslims will sit quietly and welcome these changes. Leaders should try to avoid any confrontation between Muslims and Jews. They should refrain from translating this conflict into a conflict between the occupied Palestinians and the Israeli occupiers and between religious fanatics. We must avoid it and should not lead it. There has been a major shift in Israeli society as it moves toward the right, towards extremism. (Ziad)
Separating the parties and determining limits would be a good start. There is a proper place for Jews to go and pray during their holy time and there is a religious place for Muslims to go and pray during the holy time. It is important to ensure that this separation is maintained. And then try some confidence-building measures and persuade both sides to respect the boundaries that are important for peace. Neither side should feel that its rights are being fringed or threatened in any way.
These
would be very constructive ways the current Israeli government can act if it
wants to ensure that these events do not repeat.
Ziad Abu
Ziad, Lawyer and Political Analyst
Nimrod Novik Former Senior Policy Adviser to
Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
Amr
Al Azm, a Professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at
Shawnee State University
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