Palestinian worshippers clashed with Israeli police on Friday evening at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City as tensions soared again.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 53 people, mainly Palestinians, were wounded in clashes with police there and elsewhere in Jerusalem, including 23 who were taken to hospital.

It says most were wounded in the face and eyes by rubber-coated bullets and shrapnel from stun grenades.

The clashes were the latest in a deadly day that saw Israeli forces shoot and kill two Palestinians after three men opened fire on an Israeli base in the occupied West Bank.

They erupted when Israeli police deployed heavily as Muslims were performing evening prayers at Al-Aqsa during the holy month of Ramadan.

Video footage from the scene shows worshippers throwing chairs, shoes and rocks toward the police and officers responding by opening fire.

Israeli police also closed gates leading to Al-Aqsa inside the walled Old City.

Dozens of Palestinians in an east Jerusalem neighbourhood are at risk of being evicted following a long legal battle with Israeli settlers, and Palestinian protesters have clashed with Israeli police in the city on a nightly basis since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The unrest has drawn attention from across the region, with neighbouring Jordan warning Israel against further “provocative” steps, and Iran seizing on the sensitivities around Jerusalem and encouraging the violence.

In the attack on Friday morning, Israeli police said three attackers fired on the base near the northern West Bank town of Jenin.

The Border Police and an Israeli soldier returned fire, killing two of the men and wounding the third, who was evacuated to a hospital.

Some 70,000 worshippers attended the final Friday prayers of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa, the Islamic endowment that oversees the site said.

Thousands protested afterwards, waving the green flags of the Islamic militant group Hamas and chanting pro-Hamas slogans before dispersing peacefully.

Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for more violence in the coming days.

Credit: PA News

Numerous newspapers have picked up on the ‘Palestine Live’ Facebook group that the Labour Leader, the Rt Hon. Jeremy Corbyn, had once been a participant within. The Labour Party has also moved to suspend members of the secretive group according to Ha’aretz and the issue is not going to go away particularly when so many within Jewish communities are feeling very uneasy with regular reports of anti-Semitic discourse from some within the Labour Party.

Furthermore, the level of mistrust from Jewish communities towards the Labour leadership has sharply risen and this is something that is particularly concerning, given that the Labour Party has historically been at the vanguard of tackling and countering anti-Semitism for decades. Trade Union movements and other Labour affiliated grass-roots movements have made a point of challenging hatred, racism and bigotry where they found it.

However, of late, that gulf between Jewish communities and the Labour Party continues to become a gaping chasm. Reports by David Collier on the ‘Palestine Live’ Facebook page paint a devastating picture of anti-Semitic discussions within the group and full details of the reports can be found here and here. 

The Labour Party has been quick to issue denials around the activity of the Opposition Leader and have stated that he did not mention anything within the social media group that was anti-Semitic in nature. 

In all of this, the Palestinian cause of self-determination is not assisted by those who sit in the United Kingdom and who support the cause of Palestine by promoting anti-Semitic discourse. This also goes for those who couch their anti-Semitism  through the liberal sprinkling of the term ‘Zionist’, a term also used against those who work with Jewish communities and who are from Muslim communities.

The cause of Palestine has sadly been hijacked by many, including Islamist extremists and anti-Semites, who have both done a dis-service to Palestinians, and to many other communities. Such individuals and groups must be called out and held to account, since in the end, they help no-one but promote poison within the heart of communities. 

The Holy Sepulchre holds a sacred meaning for Muslims as well as Christians. Many Jerusalemite Muslims light candles and revere both Mary and Jesus, in part hoping that they maybe blessed in some way by these holy figures. This is highlighted through this tweet from Ghanem Nuseibeh, whose family members were entrusted with the keys to the Holy Sepulchre, as a Jerusalemite Muslim family. They have symbolically held the keys to the Holy Sepulchre for generations.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Jerusalemites regardless of faith, is more than a Church. So many Muslim Jerusalemites regularly light candles at tomb of Christ, praying for something, as I have done. Today is a sad sad day for us.

— Ghanem Nuseibeh (@gnuseibeh) February 25, 2018

A recent bill by lawmaker Rachel Azaria, who sponsored the legislation, would mean that the State could expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years. This has caused concern since the Church is a major landowner in Jerusalem and opens up racial and religious fault lines as every inch of Jerusalem is historically contested and with ramifications globally for faith communities.

Such a move is even more startling since the closure of the Sepulchre places a focus on the bill and does nothing for the image of the State in the eyes of many Christians. In fact, it can be regarded as a retrograde move, playing on sensitivities at a time when the US Embassy move to Jerusalem has already inflamed tensions in some communities. More than ever, stable and calm heads are needed rather than inflammatory pieces of legislation and moves that irritate the fragile balance and peace that is within Jerusalem.

Further posts by Nuseibeh also reflect a change in the position of liberal and progressive Palestinian voices, which need to be heard if there is to be any form of peace in the future.

Closure of Church of The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, holiest site in Christiandom is beyond shocking. My family have for over 13 centuries have been guarding it to ensure it is open for freedom of worship of all denominations. Israel’s action that led to closure is unacceptable

— Ghanem Nuseibeh (@gnuseibeh) February 25, 2018

Politics aside, Israel’s action against churches harms Israel as much as the churches. Someone should tell Israeli politicians not to over-rely on Trump. They need Arabs, Christian and Muslim, more than American evangelicals

— Ghanem Nuseibeh (@gnuseibeh) February 25, 2018

The Holy Sepulchre is a symbol of hope at a time when darkness seems to be taking over parts of the global political landscape. The longer is remains closed, the longer the damage to the reputation of Israel and in the eyes of both Christians and Muslims. No doubt, many Jews will also see this as a retrograde move by the State of Israel. However, we want to highlight the comments made by Nuseibeh:

“Israel’s action against churches harms Israel as much as the churches. Someone should tell Israeli politicians not to over-rely on Trump. They need Arab, Christian and Muslim (s), more than American Evangelicals”.

Some 70 countries reaffirmed on Sunday that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned against any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations.

The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticising plans by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a “subliminal” message.

Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel’s capital despite international objections.

Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were in Paris for the conference, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as “futile”.

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented.

However, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the meeting was seen as a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president that a two-state solution to the conflict could not be compromised on and that unilateral decisions could exacerbate tensions on the ground.

The participants “call on each side … to refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final-status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognise,” the final communique said.

A French diplomatic source said there had been tough negotiations on that paragraph.

“It’s a tortuous and complicated paragraph to pass a subliminal message to the Trump administration,” the diplomat said.

REAFFIRMING RESOLUTION 2334

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters it would have been inappropriate to include the issue of moving the U.S. embassy, it being publicly debated in the United States.

Relations between the United States and Israel have soured during President Barack Obama’s administration, reaching a low point late last month when Washington declined to veto U.N. resolution 2334 demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.

Paris has said the meeting did not aim to impose anything on Israel or the Palestinians and that only direct negotiations could resolve the conflict.

The final draft did not go into any details other than reaffirming U.N. Security Council resolutions, including 2334. Diplomats said that had been a source of friction in talks.

“When some are questioning this, it’s vital for us to recall the framework of negotiations. That framework is the 1967 borders and the main resolutions of the United Nations,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters.

Kerry, who abandoned his efforts to broker peace talks in April 2014, told reporters that the meeting had “moved the ball forward.”

“It underscores this is not just one administration’s point of view, this is shared by the international community broadly,” he said.

France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities, has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year and argued that it should not play second fiddle to the war in Syria and the fight against Islamic State militants.

FOLLOW-UP MEETING?

The final statement said interested parties would meet again before year-end.

But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that “this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday … Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close.”

Britain added its criticism on Sunday. A Foreign Office statement said the Paris conference risked “hardening positions” given Israel had objected to it and that the U.S. administration is about to change.

Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a sharp rebuke on Israel last month to its U.S. ally when she scolded Secretary of State John Kerry for describing the Israeli government as the most right-wing in Israeli history. The criticism aligned her more closely with Trump.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said on Saturday that moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process, said the Paris meeting would help at stopping “settlement activities and destroying the two-state solution through dictations and the use of force.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the Palestinians wanted to form a state devoid of a Jewish population and termed it “ethnic cleansing”, drawing sharp criticism from the United States.

In a video message, Netanyahu said in reference to the removal of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, “The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews. There’s a phrase for that: It’s called ethnic cleansing. And this demand is outrageous.”

Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has stated that a future Palestinian state would not permit a single Israeli settler to live within its borders.

After viewing the video clip that was circulated on social media, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said at a briefing in Washington that the Israeli leader’s words were “inappropriate and unhelpful.”

“We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank. We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful,” she said.

Most countries view Israeli West Bank settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel rejects this, saying Jews have been living in the territory for thousands of years.

The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, along with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as its capital.

Trudeau added in her briefing that the United States feels the settlement policy raises “real questions about Israel’s long-term intentions in the West Bank.”

Last week, after Israel approved the building of 284 new housing units in West Bank settlements, the United States said the policies could expand settlements in a “potentially unlimited way.”

U.S. officials said the criticism from the U.S. State Department marked the first time it has suggested in public that Israel may be moving towards unlimited settlement expansion on land the Palestinians seek for their state.

The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest language was unusually strong but reflected a change in tone rather than any major shift in U.S. policy.

We see the cycle of hatred, an Israeli Jewish couple murdered, Jewish settlers retaliate by running over innocent Palestinians and burning olive groups, apart from the harassment and humiliation they mete out to Palestinian farmers.

A Jewish man is stabbed in the Old City by young Palestinians, whilst Palestinian children are shot and killed in cold blood by IDF soldiers as they demonstrate. Palestinian houses are demolished so that families pay the price for their relatives and Palestinians and Israeli Jews work out ways how they can disentangle themselves forever. Is this what we have come to?

The cycle of violence carries on and the propaganda and political pitches are played out by both sides. Yet, in all of this, children are dying once again, looking like they are in an eternal sleep as they are laid out on hospital beds in Gaza and within Israel and the West Bank.

Israel deserves peace, of that there is no doubt. But a future state of Palestine must be born with its security protected. It must be born for the sake of future peace and it must be given life without the crushing occupation that seeps into the daily lives of Palestinians. In all of these discussions, we must never fail to mention the fact that the occupation in the West Bank must and should end. It provides no security to Israel and most of all, it destroys hope in the eyes of young Palestinians who have seen nothing but humiliation and occupation. It must end and end now!

Furthermore, the conflict in Israel and the Middle East affects Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities globally. The Al Haram Al Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount, will spark regional tensions if it is continually used politically by the Netanyahu Government. Such tensions when ignited are sadly sweeping into the West Bank, Gaza and within Israel itself, but they play into the hands of those who want to destroy Israel at all costs. It strengthens the hardliners and weakens the pragmatists. But then again, Netanyahu can hardly be called a pragmatist.

Our only call, is that those who truly believe that Israelis and Palestinians can live together, step forward and demonstrate their opposition to the politics of division. For it is only at moments of trauma that cousins regret historical relationship breakdowns and yearn for another chance to repair the bonds. That window of opportunity is fast fading and the future is one which could see many more young children sleeping the eternal sleep of peace.