Little festivity as Gaza war rages
No breakthrough despite push for ceasefire to coincide with the start of Ramadan
JERUSALEM: On the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jerusalem’s Old City bears few of its usual hallmarks of festivity.
Nearly half of the grotto-shaped gift shops are sealed behind metal shutters.
The narrow streets that run towards Al-aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, are eerily empty. Absent are the fairy lights and shining lanterns that would usually dangle above hurried worshippers.
Ramadan preparations in Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of the decades-old Israeli-palestinian conflict, have been subdued because of the Israel-hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month.
With more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and hundreds of thousands going hungry, there’s little room for expressions of joy.
But over the next few days, attention is likely to shift from Gaza to Al-aqsa, which has been a frequent flashpoint for quickly escalating Israeli-palestinian violence in the past.
Hamas has urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement.
Although such restrictions often triggered past clashes, it’s not clear if Palestinians will risk confrontations in the current climate in which Israeli forces are clamping down hard on any perceived threats.
The Israeli government has provided few details ahead of this year’s Ramadan.
But it has said some Palestinians from the West Bank will be allowed to pray at Al-aqsa.
The United States and other international mediators had pushed for a Gaza ceasefire to coincide with the start of Ramadan. However, there has been no breakthrough.
Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct 7.
The group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities.
Most Old City shop owners declined to share their views about the coming Ramadan.
Scores of Palestinians have been detained by Israel over social media posts about the war in Gaza since it started.
Some who would speak said that more Israeli police have been deployed in the Old City since October.
The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said Friday that some Muslims from the West Bank would be allowed in from the territory for Ramadan prayers, but it didn’t elaborate. Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been vague, saying only that similar numbers of people as last year would be allowed for prayers at Al-aqsa during the first week of Ramadan.
He said this will be evaluated on a weekly basis throughout the month. No further details were made public.
Under an informal arrangement since 1967, the compound is administered by a Jordanianbased Muslim religious body known as the Waqf.
Months of conflict and tension have also brought economic hardship, with a lack of tourists and Palestinians shopping in the Old City.
“It’s not just my shop that is affected, but all the traders here, too,” said Jihad Abu Salih, a sweets and pastry merchant from the city. “It’s sad.”