The heightened tension in East Jerusalem is such that even Washington is calling for calm. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police officers occurred on Friday, May 7, in particular on the Mosques Esplanade, and in the West Bank, two Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 by Israel. They left more than 180 injured.
These tensions in the eastern sector of the Holy City are also particularly acute in the district of Sheikh Jarrah, where demonstrations have been held every evening for the past week to protest against a possible eviction of Palestinian families for the benefit of Israeli settlers.
Allies of Israel, the United States called for ” de-escalation “ tensions and ” to avoid “ the expulsion of Palestinian families. “We are deeply concerned about the rise in tensions in Jerusalem”, a State Department spokeswoman told Washington. She also said to herself “Concerned about the potential evictions of Palestinian families” in neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, “Many of whom have of course lived in their homes for generations”.
United Nations Middle East Coordinator Tor Wennesland said “Deeply concerned” by the situation and called to the ” responsibility “ and at ” calm “.
Return to a fragile calm
On the Esplanade des Mosques – called the Temple Mount by the Jews – clashes pitted Palestinian worshipers against Israeli police officers who guard the access to this third holiest site in Islam. Dozens of shots were heard from the esplanade, where a crowd of Muslims gathered on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. Smoke rose above the site in the Old City of Jerusalem. Of “Hundreds of rioters threw stones, bottles and other objects in the direction of the officers, who retaliated”Israeli police said.
Also in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, around 100 Palestinians took to the streets again, but police dispersed them with stun grenades, journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP) said. . The Palestinian Red Crescent has reported at least four Palestinians injured.
Clashes are also taking place at the Damascus Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City, AFP journalists noted, who then referred to the return to fragile calm overnight in the eastern part of the city. city.
According to the Red Crescent, at least 178 Palestinians were injured during the day, most of them on the Esplanade des Mosques. During an initial assessment, the organization reported injuries in particular to the eyes and head, mostly from rubber bullets fired, according to it, by the Israeli police. The Israeli police, for their part, reported six wounded in these ranks.
“We hold Israel responsible for the dangerous developments in the Old City”, said Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, describing the Palestinians gathered on the plaza as “Heroic people”. The armed Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, meanwhile called on the Palestinians to stay on the esplanade from Saturday evening to Thursday morning, when the month of Ramadan ends. “The Israeli occupation must realize that the resistance is ready to defend [la mosquée] Al-Aqsa at all costs ”, the group said.
Two Palestinians killed near Jenin
The last clashes between Israeli police and worshipers on the Mosque Esplanade date back to August 2019 and left dozens of Palestinians injured on the day of important Jewish and Muslim commemorations.
The new violence comes amid heightened tensions in the eastern sector of Jerusalem and in the West Bank. Earlier today, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and wounded a third near the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Police said they opened fire on border guards without causing Israeli casualties.
Earlier in the week, a young Israeli died of wounds inflicted by gunfire from a Palestinian in the West Bank and a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed by the Israeli army according to Palestinian sources.
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abou Roudeina called on Washington to put pressure on its Israeli ally to make the situation “Does not reach an uncontrollable level”. The UN has urged Israel to end any forced eviction of Palestinians, warning that its actions could constitute “War crimes”.
In Jordan, a country that continues to be guardian of Muslim holy sites in East Jerusalem, a crowd demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinian families, chanting “We will die for Sheikh Jarrah”.
Friday’s events coincided with Al-Quds Day (Arabic name for Jerusalem), celebrated annually in countries in the region and mainly in Iran, Israel’s nemesis, in support of the Palestinians. In Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, advocated the fight against Israel, described as “Terrorist base”. For him, the “Fall of the enemy Zionist regime” is inescapable.
