Holy city of Jerusalem marks sad end to Ramadan

Dressed in sparkly new clothes and clutching balloons, excited children on Thursday reveled in the Eid Al-Fitr celebrations in Jerusalem’s Old City. But days of violence lay heavy on their parents’ hearts.

As the first rays of sun began to break over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, crowds of Palestinians gathered for the first prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Stalls stacked high with colorful plastic toys, or tasty sesamedipped snacks that are a Jerusalem specialty, tempted the crowds snaking along the Old City’s narrow stone streets.

At the centuries-old Damascus Gate, scene of violent clashes between Israeli Arabs and police at the start of Ramadan, two huge bundles of balloons fluttered in the spring breeze. Mickey Mouse and Spiderman could be spotted bobbing among them.

Just three days ago, Israeli police deployed so-called skunk water there — a putrid mixture of sewage water — to disperse the crowds after a weekend of unrest in different parts of Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

“Do you see any problems, there, right now? No,” said Jabbar, who is in his 60s, pointing at crowds of Palestinians being carefully watched by heavily armed Israeli police at Damascus Gate.

“But it could flare up again at any minute,” he warned grimly. “Everything will return to normal if God so wishes it,” said Fefka, who lives in the East Jerusalem quarter of Issawiya. “The violence has to stop, but everything is only done for the settlers here,” she added angrily. “Jerusalem is also ours,” she insisted, denouncing Israeli settlers who have moved into the east of the city since it was seized in the 1967 war.

Hiba, 26, and Soujoud, 21, have been visiting the Al-Aqsa compound since Friday. “Morning and evening, we stayed at Al-Aqsa,” said Soujoud, a secretarial student. “We don’t want any problems, but the mosque is ours and we have to defend it,” she added.