Editorial
C.W violence and graphic imagery
In the past week, images of rockets, airstrikes and street clashes have dominated international news coverage. The latest fighting is the culmination of long standing tensions, with the status of Jerusalem at the centre of the ongoing territorial struggle.
Jerusalem’s holy sites, principally the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque, are venerated by Jews and Muslims respectively. Both camps have religious claims to the capital, and the issue has immense symbolic import for Palestinians and Jews. The Trump Administration’s decision in 2017 to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has further complicated future peace negotiations. Jerusalem’s importance for Israel and Palestine’s national identities cannot be overlooked, and the violence which has erupted this past week appears to be a symptom of the political paralysis which has come to dominate the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
The most recent flashpoint of violence is the result of a confluence of factors. Protests by Palestinians have spread across much of the country and were sparked in response to the increasing Israeli military presence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. So too has the coinciding of Ramadan with Jerusalem Day and the uncompromising rhetoric between Hamas and the Israeli Government stoked the fire of conflict.
Protests in East Jerusalem
On the 6th of May 2021, protests by Palestinians were sparked in response to an impending Israeli High Court ruling. If successful, the ruling would see dozens of Palestinian evicted from their homes in Sheikh-Jarrah, an Arab dominated neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.
Jewish families contend that owing to their displacement from Sheikh-Jarrah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, they have a valid claim to the land. At the same time, the creation of Israel forced several hundred thousand Palestinians to flee their homes. Cumulatively, this mass exodus totalled approximately half of Palestine’s pre-war Arab population. For a number of years, cases have been made to Israel’s courts by both Jewish settlement groups and Palestinian residents, in what has now become an emblem of Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupation.
This is not the first time that property disputes in Sheik-Jarrah have captured a global audience. In 2009 and 2013 Palestinian residents were evicted from the neighbourhood, and plans to build a Jewish school and other infrastructure projects were advanced by the Israeli government. Palestinians view the encroachment of settlers in Sheikh-Jarrah as part of a broader attempt to blockade future discussions on the status of Jerusalem. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labelled the situation a “real-estate dispute between private parties“. He has rejected pressure by the International Community to halt development in Jerusalem, asserting that “this is what we have done … [and] that is what we will continue to do”.
Countries both within and outside of the Middle East, as well as the NGO Amnesty International, have accused Israel of human rights violations and demanded that they backtrack on the proposed evictions. They include Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE, who only last year established normal diplomatic relations with Israel. The United States has expressed its opposition more mildly, warning against any activity that would “take us further away from peace“, including evictions as well as settlement expansion more broadly. On Saturday, the US State Department urged the Israeli government to employ “compassion and respect” in its dealings with the occupants of Sheikh-Jarrah. The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has firmly urged Israel to halt the evictions, which it claims is “in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law”.
As of the 11th of May 2021, Israel’s High Court has postponed its decision on whether to evict the Palestinian residents from Sheikh-Jarrah. The situation is evolving, and it is too early to say what the outcome will be.
Israeli military presence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Tensions mounted between Palestinians and Israeli police on the 12th of April 2021, as blockades were erected to restrict Palestinians from entering the Damascus Gate Plaza. The plaza is a habitual gathering place during the Holy month of Ramadan. Four days later on the 16th of April, Israel mandated that no more than 10,000 worshippers were allowed to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque. According to Israel’s Ministry of Defence, this decision was made to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Both Palestinians and moderate Israelis have criticised the move.
On Monday the 10th of May 2021, clashes occurred between stone throwing Palestinians and stun-grenade yielding Israeli police. The Palestinian Red Crescent has declared that 305 Palestinians were injured during the confrontation. The Israeli police have said that 21 officers have been wounded. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has described the events by ‘Israeli occupation forces’ as a “brutal storming … [and a] new challenge to the International Community“. Netanyahu has defended the actions of the police, citing the violence as “as a battle between lawless violence and order”.
The Mosque is Islam’s third holiest site. Muslims believe that Prophet Mohammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to Al-Aqsa in one night, after which he ascended to heaven. For Jews, the Temple Mount is the site of two ancient Jewish temples, and is supposedly the location where Isaac was sacrificed by his father Abraham. It has repeatedly been a flashpoint for unrest since the 1967 Six Day War, when Israel took back the territory of East Jerusalem. In 2000, then right wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon paid a visit to the site. Palestinian protesters rebelled and the situation unfolded into the Al-Aqsa Intifada, in which over 3000 Palestinians and 1000 Israelis lost their lives. In 2017, a shooting in the Al-Aqsa compound resulted in restricted access to the Mosque, and the swift installation of metal detectors. Tensions were re-ignited, however the situation managed to de-escalate after the security measures were retracted. The current escalation of violence in the Al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount needs to be viewed within a broader context of unrest concerning the fate of the Holy City and its associated sacred sites.
Coinciding of Ramadan with Jerusalem Day
This year, the end of Ramadan overlapped with Jerusalem Day, stoking clashes between Palestinians and ultra-nationalist Jews. On Monday the 10th of May, thousands of nationalist Israelis were set to march through predominantly Muslim areas in Jerusalem. The March was to be a celebration of Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six Day War. Defenders of this national holiday view it as a celebration of Jewish sovereignty. Arabs see it as a grandiose show of the continuing occupation. On Monday the 10th of May, the march was rerouted, which failed to subdue the violence.
On Thursday the 13th of May, the fighting intensified. Hundreds of ultra-nationalist extremists from the anti-Palestinian group called Lehava marched through the Old City in Jerusalem, shouting “death to Arabs”. Both sides exchanged violence, and Israeli police deployed tear gas and other deterrents at Palestinians. It has been reported that at least 100 Palestinians were wounded, as well as 20 Israeli officers.
Mob violence has spread across Israel, with the Arab-Jewish town of Lod becoming the centerpiece of violent clashes. On Wednesday the 12th of May a state of emergency was declared in Lod, following rioting, vandalism and shootings, which culminated in 12 civilians being injured. On Tuesday the 11th of May, an Arab resident from Lod was shot and killed by a Jewish resident. A spokesperson for the Israeli police said the shot was fired in self defence. Arab residents claim that the man was weaponless when he was shot and killed. At the man’s funeral on the 13th of May, the rioting intensified. A Jewish man was badly injured after his car was pounded with rocks by Arab residents. The mayor of Lod has likened the situation to ‘civil war’. Unrest has intensified in other parts of Israel, namely the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
On Tuesday the 11th of May, Netanyahu deployed paramilitary police to Lod and other towns across the country. He has firmly stated that mob violence presents a larger threat to Israel than the violence transpiring in Gaza.
Uncompromising rhetoric from Hamas and the Israeli Government
The violence between Hamas and Israel was set off by the escalating conflict at the Al-Aqsa Compound / Temple Mount. On Monday the 10th of May, Hamas issued an ultimatum to the Israeli Government. They demanded that the Israeli authorities remove the police and military from the compound, as well as from Sheikh-Jarrah. Additionally, Hamas ordered that all Palestinians who were arrested during the clashes in East Jerusalem be released. On Monday night, when Israel refused to comply, Hamas began to fire rockets. Israel responded by launching multiple airstrikes into Gaza. Since Monday, Hamas has fired 2000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, 1000 of which have been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome. The Iron Dome is Israel’s chief defence system and is used to track and obstruct incoming rockets.
On Wednesday the 12th of May, an Israeli airstrike killed a chief Hamas commander. Hamas claims that they have sent 130 rockets from Gaza into Israel, in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that demolished the al-Sharouk tower in central Gaza. Israel has targeted hundreds of sites, including a building that accommodated Hamas’s military intelligence.
Hamas and Netanyahu have escalated their rhetoric. Netanyahu stated that Israel ‘will intensify the power of our attacks’, whilst Hamas declared that ‘the resistance is ready’ no matter what course of action the Israeli government takes. The death toll in Gaza is said to have reached 113, according to health authorities. At least 31 children are included in this number. Seven Israelis have lost their lives, including one young child.
As of Friday the 14th of May, Israeli has ramped up its military deployment to Gaza.
Diplomats have attempted to quell the violence, which appears to have no end in sight. The United Nations, Egypt and Qatar are working to arrange a cease-fire and The UN Security Council has met to discuss an appropriate response. An anonymous tip from Security Council diplomats has detailed that a statement has not been made on account of fears by the United States that it may inflame the violence.
What is clear is that the most recent eruption of violence is the inevitable outcome of old grievances being left to fester. Without compromise, a lasting peace looks firmly out of reach.
