JERUSALEM – The Israeli Supreme Court will not discuss the controversial proceedings tomorrow that could confirm the eviction of four Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The decision to postpone the hearing was announced today by the court at the request of Attorney General Avihai Mendelblit. “The case raises sensitivity from various points of view” reads Mendelblit’s petition. “The State therefore asks to examine the possibility of participating in the procedure and for this reason asks to view the relevant material”.
The decision is seen as a last-ditch attempt to put out the flames in the incendiary situation that has arisen in recent weeks in Jerusalem, which culminated in heavy clashes on Friday evening on the Temple Mount between Palestinians and Israeli police forces, which over the weekend led to the wounding of over 300 Palestinians and 34 policemen. “We will continue to maintain freedom of worship for all religions but we will not allow violent unrest. To terrorist organizations I say: Israel will respond strongly to any act of aggression from the Gaza Strip.” This is the message of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of the special cabinet meeting on the occasion of Jerusalem Day.
Jerusalem, the Supreme Court decides on a cause from the 1800s and the revolt explodes. Clashes on the Temple Mount: over 50 injured
by Sharon Nizza
The violence has been widely condemned by the international community, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the new Arab allies who have recently established their embassies in Israel following the Abrahamic Accords. The tension remains high, as starting this evening, Israel is celebrating Jerusalem Day, in which it celebrates 54 years since the “reunification of the single and indivisible capital”. The traditional “Flag Parade” is scheduled for tomorrow, in which tens of thousands of protesters march with Israeli flags through the streets of the old city. According to local media, political consultations are underway to consider resizing the event, or to change its route, which originally should pass through the Damascus Gate and the Muslim quarter, up to the Wailing Wall in the Jewish quarter. .
One of the nerve centers of the clashes that have been going on for several days is the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in the eastern part of the city, not far from the old city. After demonstrations degenerated into urban warfare, the neighborhood is currently under confinement, and access is allowed only to residents and journalists. At the center of the diatribe several legal battles that for over thirty years have seen opposing Palestinian families and Jewish associations claiming ownership of some plots of land around a religious site identified as the tomb of Simeon the Just. In one of these cases – the one that should have reached the last level of judgment tomorrow – the first two proceedings had confirmed the Jewish property, dating back to the end of the 19th century, and the eviction of the Palestinians, who had obtained the houses over the years’ 50 when the area was under Jordanian control between 1948 and 1967. The UN considers the actions to allow the settlement of Jewish inhabitants in East Jerusalem neighborhoods as a violation of international law.
Arguments rejected by Israel, which unlike what happened with the West Bank, annexed the eastern part of the city immediately after the Six Day War, applying complete jurisdiction to it. In his speech today, Netanyahu also responded to the condemnations of the international community following the Israeli government’s approval of new housing units in the Har Homa neighborhood: “We strongly reject the pressure not to build in Jerusalem. best friends: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel “.
The Sheikh Jarrah controversy has taken on great significance in recent weeks in conjunction with the postponement of the Palestinian elections, announced by President Abu Mazen at the end of April to the great chagrin of Hamas, which condemned the decision to cancel the elections scheduled for 22 May. With the election campaign canceled, the rivalry between Fatah and Hamas is now focused on Jerusalem, in an attempt to establish itself as a political force of reference for the Palestinians.
Last week, Mohammad Deif, head of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and top of Israel’s wanted terrorist list, left a very rare public message (the latest dating back to 2014) in support of the battle of the inhabitants. by Sheikh Jarrah, warning Israel that “if the aggression against our people does not stop, the occupation will pay a heavy price”. In the numerous protests in Jerusalem, Hamas flags have been flown several times, but the terrorist organization has failed to garner much support in the Gaza Strip, where a call to renew protests on the border with Israel has seen only about a hundred. participants. Over 40 incendiary balloons were launched from Gaza today, one of which hit the Beer Sheva – Ashkelon railway line, blocking the passage of trains for hours. In response, Israel announced the closure of the Gaza fishing zone.
On Thursday, in one of the hardest days of clashes, parliamentarian Itamar Ben Gvir, who entered the Knesset for the first time in March in the ranks of the far-right “Religious Zionism” party, had established for a few hours an improvised parliamentary office right between the houses of discord, further inflaming the territory. According to Channel 12, Prime Minister Netanyahu threatened the parliamentarian to evacuate immediately: “There are precise warnings about Sheikh Jarrah: if you don’t leave now, it can end up with Hamas starting to shoot immediately”, reported the news channel. .
Mixed assessments come from the Israeli security establishment: on the one hand the army has strengthened troops in the West Bank and on the border with the Gaza Strip, on the other hand it is thought that an escalation extended to other fronts is not in the interest of none of the parties, especially during the most solemn days of the month of Ramadan, which ends this week. But, in the absence of a long-term strategy, Jerusalem remains a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
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