JERUSALEM: Nightly clashes and other violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem during Ramadan have laid bare simmering tensions in the holy city.
Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police amid a dispute over evening gatherings at Damascus Gate after iftar, the breaking of the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month.
Meanwhile, a video on social media app TikTok purporting to show a Palestinian slapping an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man on Jerusalem’s light rail train has drawn protests by Israelis and calls by some right-wing politicians for tougher police action.
The incidents, which followed the start of Ramadan on April 13, threaten to break a sustained period of relative quiet in a contested city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinians say police have tried to prevent them from holding their usual Ramadan evening gatherings outside Damascus Gate, a historic landmark on the north side of Jerusalem’s walled Old City.
Israeli police have fired stun grenades and sprayed foul-smelling skunk water to disperse the Palestinians, who in turn have discharged fireworks toward them.
“Palestinians love to relax in this area after evening prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the occupation (Israel) doesn’t like it. It’s a matter of sovereignty,” said Jerusalem resident Mohammad Abu Al-Homus, pointing to metal barricades thrown up by police in the area outside Damascus Gate in recent weeks.
Israel’s police have not said why they erected the barriers, and a spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ repeated requests for comment.
In statements issued over the past week, the police said they had arrested several Palestinians for throwing stones and attacking officers.
There have also been some street skirmishes between Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Police arrested four people in one such fight on Jaffa Road in downtown Jerusalem on Wednesday night, Israeli media reported.
“Jews won’t be scared to walk around Jerusalem!” said a leaflet distributed on WhatsApp calling for Jewish protests at Damascus Gate on Thursday night.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector captured in the 1967 Middle East war, as its capital.
Palestinians seek to make East Jerusalem, including its Muslim, Christian and Jewish holy sites, capital of a future state.
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Ramadan nights see Israeli police and Palestinians face off in Jerusalem
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Ramadan nights see Israeli police and Palestinians face off in Jerusalem
- Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police amid dispute over gatherings at Damascus Gate after iftar
- Israeli police fired stun grenades and sprayed foul-smelling skunk water to disperse Palestinians, who discharged fireworks
Israeli approval of West Bank land registration draws outrage
- Israel’s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank, drawing condemnation
JERUSALEM: Israel’s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank, drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who labelled it a “mega land grab” that would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the measure would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
But Egypt, Qatar and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law.
In a statement, the Egyptian government called it a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the “decision to convert West Bank lands into so-called ‘state property’,” saying it would “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights.”
The Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the “de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.”
Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called Sunday’s measure a “mega land grab.”
According to public broadcaster Kan, land registration will be reopened in the West Bank for the first time since 1967 — when Israel captured the territory in the Middle East war.
The Israeli media reported that the process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60 percent of West Bank territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control.
Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel’s religious right want to take over the land.
Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords in place since the 1990s.
Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority’s control.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
Around three million Palestinians live in the territory.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the measure would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
But Egypt, Qatar and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law.
In a statement, the Egyptian government called it a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the “decision to convert West Bank lands into so-called ‘state property’,” saying it would “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights.”
The Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the “de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.”
Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called Sunday’s measure a “mega land grab.”
According to public broadcaster Kan, land registration will be reopened in the West Bank for the first time since 1967 — when Israel captured the territory in the Middle East war.
The Israeli media reported that the process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60 percent of West Bank territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control.
Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel’s religious right want to take over the land.
Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords in place since the 1990s.
Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority’s control.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
Around three million Palestinians live in the territory.
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