Israel mars own peace gains
In a series of severe policing moves, Israel did not endear itself to its new allies in the region like the UAE and Bahrain, both signatories to normalisation agreements with Israel last year, besides old enemy Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip. Israeli police appeared to block the right to worship for Muslims in the Al Aqua mosque in Jerusalem, their religion’s third holiest site. The Israel police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinian youth on Friday injuring about 205 Palestinians and 18 policemen and also clashed with protesters outside Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday which, as the “Night of Destiny”, is also the holiest night in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Weeks of unrest followed by two days of high tension from police action described as “security moves” by the police chief may be traced back not only to competing historic claims to east Jerusalem, which houses holy shrines of Judaism, Islam and Christianity but also to rising anger over the possible eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarra as their land is being claimed by Jewish settlers. This relates to an old phenomenon in Israel’s planned demographic change of territories occupied since the 1967 war. Israel’s supreme court is to hold a hearing on the case pertaining to East Jerusalem on Monday.
There were also claims of a rocket from Hamas falling in an open area on Sunday and a retaliatory aerial Israeli strike at a Hamas military post. The incidents does no credit to Israel even as Benjamin Netanhayu’s government is still in place though Yair Lapid of the cenrtist Yesh Atid party has been asked to explore forming a new coalition government. The US, Europe and UN are calling for calm even as Israel’s Arab allies are condemning the latest moves which, naturally enough, are seen as obstructing Muslims when they are going for Ramadan prayers. In oppressive policing action, Israel may be blithely blowing away the gains made in its peace moves that helped alleviate old enmities in the region.