Tensions rose in Jerusalem over the weekend as Israeli settlers, under the protection of armed Israeli forces, raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound just a few days before the Eid al-Adha holidays.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, Israeli forces stormed the compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam, as Palestinian worshipers were performing predawn fajjr prayers.
According to local media reports, Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at worshipers, and violently detained a number of Palestinians, including women, at the compound.
Israeli police claimed that Palestinians at the compound threw rocks at forces, though Palestinians maintained that the Israeli forces were the ones who provoked the violence.
Israeli forces also restricted other Palestinians from entering the area, forcing people to perform prayers at the gates to the compound.
Videos published on social media showed Israeli forces violently manhandling Palestinian women, unprovoked, as they were walking inside the Al-Aqsa compound.
Outside the gates of the compound, Israeli forces were documented as conducting unwarranted stops and searches on Palestinian bystanders over the course of the entire weekend.
Meanwhile, on Sunday morning and throughout the day, Israeli forces escorted hundreds of Israeli settlers into the compound, many of whom perform prayers and other rituals to mark Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the ancient temples in Jerusalem.
According to AFP, more than 1,600 Jewish settlers entered the compound on Sunday.
The presence of the settlers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound sparked outrage in Palestine, as the events fell on the Sunday marking the eve of the Hajj pilgrimage, and the Day of Arafah, the holiest day of the Muslim calendar.
Palestinian leaders condemned the raids, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh calling Sunday’s events a “serious violation that aims to impose the temporal and spatial division of the mosque.”
Shatayyeh and the Palestinian Authority condemned what they said were attempts to “change the status quo” at the site.
Jordan, which is the official custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem, also condemned Israel’s actions, with the Jordanian foreign ministry calling on Israel “to stop its violations and provocations” and to “respect the historical and legal status quo, respect the sanctity of the mosque and the freedom of worshipers, and respect the authority of the Jordan-run Jerusalem Endowment Department and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs”.
On Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett thanked security officials for “preserving freedom of worship for Jews on the Mount”, referring to the Temple Mount, the Jewish name for the Al-Aqsa compound.
On Monday however, following the international backlash, Bennett backtracked, saying that “there is no change in the status quo.”
The Al-Aqsa compound has for decades been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict due to its religious significance for both Muslims and Jews, and the political importance of the city of Jerusalem for both Palestinian and Israelis.
Following Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, an agreement was signed with Jordan, allowing for non-Muslim visitation, but no non-Muslim worship, at the site.
Despite this agreement, Israeli settlers and forces regularly raid the compound, often on Jewish holidays, sparking protests and resulting in the violent suppression of Palestinian worshipers.
In 2019, dozens of Palestinians were injured during similar circumstances on the eve of Eid al-Adha, as Jewish settlers raided the compound for Tish B’Av.
Earlier this year, during the last few days of Ramadan and leading up to the Eid-al-Fitr holidays, Israeli forces conducted violent raids on the compound and across East Jerusalem, resulting in the injury and arrest of hundreds of Palestinians.
Israel’s violations at the site were the spark that led the Hamas military wing in Gaza to begin firing rockets at Israel. It led to the worst fighting in years, and an 11-day Israeli offensive that brutalized Gaza, and killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children.
The reason Israel doesn’t give up the West Bank to the Palestinians isn’t for any military reason – since at least 2000, if not earlier, very few Israeli military experts believe the W.B. was essential for security reasons – Ami Ayalon, former head of Shin Bet talks about this in his book “Friendly Fire”. No, the reason Israel holds on to the W.B. is because the W.B. has this symbolic value. Jewish settlers want to pray at the site for symbolic reasons.
Hamas launched its rockets recently for symbolic reasons – Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa mosque. But according to our colleagues at Hasbara U, only The Jews have the right to symbolism, only they can act to protect their their symbols.
“The times, they are a’changing,” ever faster:
Survey: A quarter of US Jews agree that Israel ‘is an apartheid state’ – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)
JTA – Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 13/21
Politics, Survey: “A quarter of US Jews agree that Israel ‘is an apartheid state’” By Ron Kampeas
EXCERPT:
(JTA) — “A survey of U.S. Jewish voters taken after the Israel-Gaza conflict finds that a sizable minority believe some of the harshest criticisms of Israel, including that it is committing genocide and apartheid.
“Among respondents to the survey commissioned by the Jewish Electorate Institute, a group led by prominent Jewish Democrats, 34% agreed that ‘Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is similar to racism in the United States,’ 25% agreed that ‘Israel is an apartheid state’ and 22% agreed that ‘Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.’
“Among younger voters included in the survey released Tuesday, agreement with those statements was higher, though still in the minority. The poll found that 9% of voters agreed with the statement, ‘Israel doesn’t have a right to exist.’ But among voters under 40, that proportion was 20%. A third of younger voters agreed that Israel is committing genocide, a position that even human rights lawyers who are critical of Israel say is extreme; more than a third agreed that Israel is an apartheid state.
“The findings are striking as mainstream pro-Israel organizations struggle to make the case that Israel is central to Jewish identity and that criticism of it often veers into antisemitism. They suggest that many American Jews agree with statements by some of Israel’s harshest critics on the left made during the Gaza-Israel conflict in May, including in some cases by a handful of Democratic members of Congress who were then criticized by their colleagues.”
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https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-bennett-backtracks-on-statement-backing-jewish-right-to-prayer-on-temple-mount-1.10012103
“Bennett Backtracks on Statement Backing Jewish Freedom of Worship on Temple Mount” by Jonathan Lis, Haaretz, July 19/21 2021
“‘There is no change in the status quo,’ Bennett says after Islamist coalition party, PA slam Jewish visits to the Temple Mount during Tisha B’Av fast day
“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett backpedaled Monday morning on statements he made a day earlier, in which he said Israel will preserve freedom of worship for Jews on the Temple Mount. The statement deviated from Israel’s status quo, in which Jews are banned from prayer on the site, which is Judaism’s holiest and the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
“‘There is no change in the status quo,’ a Monday morning statement from Bennett’s bureau read. It elaborated that the intention behind the message was that the right of Jews to visit – rather than to pray at – the Temple Mount would be preserved.
“The far-right Religious Zionism party said in response that Bennett ‘folded’ to pressure United Arab List MK Mansour Abbas, whose party condemned the visit of Jewish pilgrims to the mount on Sunday. ‘Once again, Mansour Abbas got mad, and once again, Bennett folded – this time on the Jewish right to worship on the Temple Mount,’ the party’s statement said. ‘Sadly, the State of Israel is hostage to terror supporters.’
“Sunday marked Tisha B’Av, a fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples, and about 1,600 Jews visited the site to mark the holiday. Among the pilgrims were right-wing lawmakers Amichai Chikli and Yom Tov Halfon from Bennett’s Yamina party. Palestinians clashed with police at the Temple Mount plaza, and officers said that several young men were arrested for throwing stones at police.
“Bennett had thanked Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ‘for managing the events on the Temple Mount responsibly and with discretion, while preserving freedom of worship for Jews on the Mount. The prime minister stressed that freedom of worship will continue to be fully preserved for Muslims, who are marking the Day of Arafah and the Feast of the Sacrifice. (cont’d)
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“The United Arab List party, who are Yamina’s coalition partners, condemned the visit by Jewish worshipers to the Temple Mount on Sunday, saying that ‘The people of the UAL and the activists of the Islamic Movement will defend the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque with their bodies.’ It further said that it had tried to convince the government to stop the entry of Jewish visitors to the site.
“The Palestinian Authority called the visit ‘a dangerous Israeli escalation.’ A statement issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office said it was ‘a serious threat to the security and stability’ and offensive to the feelings of Palestinians.
“‘The government of Israel bears responsibility for this escalation,’ the statement read, citing Joe Biden administration’s request to uphold the status quo on the compound.”
You would have thought the Israeli Jews would have learned that they can get away with a lot, but not an attack on Al Aqsa. We haven’t seen the last of this.