Fatah, Hamas use unrest to distract from their own problems

The Palestinian factions have succeeded in their effort to turn the dispute over the inclusion of Jerusalem in the upcoming Palestinian elections into a major theme of their electoral campaigns, which are set to begin this Friday.

They are already competing for the title of the best “defenders of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque” against alleged Israeli efforts to “Judaize” the city and alter the historical and legal status of the holy site.

The factions, specifically Fatah and Hamas, are also seeking to use the issue of Jerusalem as a distraction from the internal problems and challenges they are increasingly facing on the eve of the elections.

Israeli authorities, on the other hand, evidently underestimated the calls made by the factions and their leaders over the past few weeks to turn Jerusalem into a battlefield for “constant clashes” with the Israeli security forces and “settlers.”

The calls, mostly from Fatah and Hamas

leaders, came in the context of a concerted Palestinian campaign to exert pressure on Israel to allow the elections to take place in Jerusalem. Israel has yet to spell out its position on the participation of Jerusalem Arabs in the vote.

The latest violence began on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when activists believed to be affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction attacked policemen stationed near the Old City of Jerusalem with fireworks, rocks and petrol bombs. Several Jewish passersby were also targeted.

The activists said they were protesting tough Israeli security measures, including a ban on gatherings of dozens of youths at the Damascus Gate stairways.

But it was obvious from day one that the clashes were part of the campaign to pressure Israel to allow the elections to take place in Jerusalem.

As the clashes became a daily phenomenon, some residents of east Jerusalem accused the activists of disrupting the Ramadan celebrations and prayers, which normally take place after the iftar meal breaking the fast each evening.

The residents complained that the clashes between the activists and the police have forced many of them to avoid praying at al-Aqsa Mosque or enjoy the festivities of Ramadan night.

The demonstration organized this past Thursday by far-right Jewish activists outside the Old City was used by the Fatah leadership as an excuse to escalate the violence. It was portrayed by the Fatah leadership as part of an attempt to “storm” al-Aqsa Mosque and the homes of east Jerusalem residents.

Fatah leaders and activists called on east Jerusalem residents to take to the streets to defend their homes and the mosque against Jewish “settlers.”

The goal: to show that Fatah cares about Jerusalem and will not allow Israel to impose its own dictates on the Palestinians, especially regarding the inclusion of Jerusalem in the elections.

The issue of Jerusalem is of significant importance to the PA and Fatah leaders, particularly in light of accusations that they have done almost nothing to assist the Arab residents or “thwart Israeli conspiracies” against the city and al-Aqsa Mosque.

In the past two days, PA and Fatah officials have been seeking to capitalize on the violence by depicting it as part of the Palestinian leadership’s “battle” to defend Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections, slated for May 22 and July 31 respectively.

“The battle that our great people are waging in Jerusalem is not an electoral battle to establish and exercise our legitimate democratic right inside the city, but rather a continuation of the battles that they are waging against the arbitrary measures practiced by the occupation against Muslim and Christian holy sites,” boasted Abbas Zaki, a prominent member of the Fatah Central Committee, the faction’s highest decision-making body.

Zaki’s statement, directed to Palestinian voters, is seen as part of an attempt by the Fatah leadership to take credit for the violence on the streets of Jerusalem. Moreover, it is seen as part of an attempt by Fatah to divert attention away from its own problems. to exiled Fatah operative Mohammed Dahlan.

The split is likely to have a negative impact on Fatah’s performance in next month’s elections and benefit its rivals in Hamas.

Abbas’s list, on the other hand, wants the electoral campaign to focus on Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular, thereby eclipsing inconvenient issues such as financial and administrative corruption in the PA.

The violence in Jerusalem may also serve as a good excuse for Abbas to postpone or even cancel the elections.

Abbas is beginning to realize that he got himself into a precarious situation by calling new elections that are threatening to divide Fatah into several rival factions.

He could now use the violence on the streets of Jerusalem to hold Israel responsible for obstructing the elections, especially if the clashes spread to the West Bank.

Hamas and the Gaza-based factions, meanwhile, are also trying to cash in on the Jerusalem riots ahead of the elections. The rockets fired into Israeli territory over the weekend were aimed to show the Palestinian public that these factions are also involved in the “battle” against Israel in Jerusalem.

WITH LESS than a month before the parliamentary election, Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip cannot afford a situation where Fatah appears to be standing alone in the fight over Jerusalem.

Hamas has already turned the issue of Jerusalem into the major theme of its election campaign by naming its electoral slate “Jerusalem is Our Destiny.”

In a clear message to Palestinian voters, Hamas officials said the violence in Jerusalem proves that the terror group’s strategy of “resistance” against Israel is the best way to “liberate” Jerusalem and prevent Israel from implementing its purported plan to “Judaize” the city.

Hamas, in other words, is appealing to Palestinians to cast their ballots in favor of those who support the armed struggle against Israel, and not Abbas’s Fatah, which conducts security coordination with Israel and is ready to return to the negotiating table.

Like Fatah, Hamas is also hoping to use the issue of Jerusalem as an excuse to divert attention away from its failed governance and policies.

And like Fatah, Hamas wants the electoral campaign to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, specifically Jerusalem, and not on its failure to improve the conditions of its constituents in the Gaza Strip.

But the rockets launched from the coastal enclave were also aimed at sending a warning to Abbas not to call off the elections. Some Hamas officials have warned that such a move would be tantamount to a “surrender to the Zionist enemy” and will solidify the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. •

Hatnua.

The Yamina leader acknowledged that a national unity government would not be able to annex settlements as he seeks to do, or reform the judicial system, another primary goal of his party and the right-wing.

At the same time, he said territory would not be transferred out of Israel’s control during such a government.

In the case that a national unity government is formed, Bennett said its priorities will be passing a budget, renewing the operations of government bureaucracies, and creating long-term policies for pressing economic issues in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, he said numerous infrastructure projects could be initiated for Israel’s roads, railways and the strengthening of the country’s geographic periphery.

“If such a government is formed, all its partners would need to show restraint in their behavior, and perhaps we could [then] bring a modicum of quiet to the Israeli public,” wrote Bennett.

“Israel is in an extremely difficult crisis. In every crisis there are people sitting in the bleachers criticizing and explaining ‘why not’ It’s easy to be ‘right.’ Even very easy. And there are those who enter the arena, strive to come up with solutions, face the difficult and unpleasant alternatives, and work for a solution. They are called leaders,” Bennett concluded.

The Likud Party responded to Bennett’s Facebook post, saying in a statement that Bennett wants to be prime minister at all costs, including at the cost of [forming] a leftwing government”

Netanyahu’s party added that Bennett as prime minister of the change bloc would be a left-wing government with a right-wing fig leaf.

Bennett also on Friday pointedly rejected any boycott of the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism from joining the government, in reference to reports about Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman.

The report said Liberman would permit the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties to join later on but that they need a “cooling off period” out of the government beforehand.

“Bennett will not accept a boycott of haredim or any other group in Israel,” a Yamina spokesperson said. “Any government reform will care for all citizens of Israel and not discriminate against any sector.

“Any party that accepts our coalition guidelines will be invited to join.”

Yisrael Beytenu said in response that “we do not boycott any sector, including the ultra-Orthodox sector,” but that it would insist that any coalition it joins deals with issues such as conversion, ultra-Orthodox enlistment, civil marriage, and reforming the kashrut (kosher laws) system. •