By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL(TURKISH JOURNAL )- Ever since last Friday’s ceasefire, the situation for Palestinians has been nothing short of precarious with the Israeli military provoking, harassing and bullying Palestinians along with Jewish settlers who have been attacking Palestinians especially in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
On Monday, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli police after he allegedly stabbed two Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem close to the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Early Sunday morning, dozens of Jewish settlers along with Israeli special forces entered the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, only hours after reports of Israeli police beating and attacking Muslim worshippers. Tensions are at a breaking point between the two sides ever since Israel declared on Monday that it will arrest hundreds of Palestinian citizens of Israel for their participation in recent sit-ins in support of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Israeli police say the wave of mass arrests is part of their “operation of law and order” to punish those who took part in demonstrations against violence by Jewish settlers. In a statement on Sunday night, Israeli police said they had already arrested 1,550 people since May 9. The Israeli military said that thousands of security forces will be deployed to carry out raids in towns and cities that consist of predominantly Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The situation has deteriorated to the point of almost no-return with Palestine’s Foreign Minister having made a bid to the international community a week ago – to as he put it – “end the Israeli occupation.” Then earlier on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Ramallah who prior to that met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Saffadi in Amman, warning of another possible escalation in the region. Immediately after the ceasefire, Egypt sent its delegations to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank to monitor what appears to be a tenuous ceasefire. In order to ensure the ceasefire holds, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken headed to the Mideast on Monday. He will be meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials in the region, to ensure the ceasefire remains in effect. He will also visit leaders in Egypt and Jordan with his priority getting major financial aid to Gaza. It’s expected that Blinken and regional leaders plan to forge a more lasting peace deal as the Biden administration as well as the UN have called for a return to negotiations on a two-state solution.
In the meantime, the UN said the situation in Gaza is dire with a shortage of medicine, food and supplies despite Israel allowing some humanitarian aid to pass through the Gaza border prior to the Israeli government closing the border for the past two days. While hundreds of Palestinians work together with help from groups to clean up Gaza, there is a pervasive fear among them because future home evictions hang in the balance. The Israeli court has temporarily suspended any decision on Palestinian families being evicted in two areas of occupied East Jerusalem but some members of the press learned that those families are being mercilessly harassed by Jewish settlers. TRT World spoke to a number of Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah who told the news channel that the ongoing court case about evicting families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem is happening because Israel wants to turn the area into a Jewish settlement.
Currently, Israel says it will arrest 500 Palestinians who they claim participated in violent protests and riots. The Israeli court delayed the hearing on the evictions in an attempt to allay tensions. Palestine’s Foreign Minister has called on the international community to “put an end to Israeli occupation.” In the meantime, analysts say that Palestinians have lost faith in the Palestinian Authority while Hamas has gained unexpected respect for standing up to the Israeli government in what many have labeled as an “apartheid regime.” The about face, experts say is largely due to the fact that the Palestinian Authority has not taken as strong a stance with the Israeli government as Hamas has. In the most recent clashes, TRT World spoke to Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah who said that Jewish settlers entered their homes, stealing some of their belongings and putting some of their own people in those homes.
Meanwhile, the Blinken, analysts speculate, had a different tone recently, when he said that “Palestinians have a right to live in security”. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who has long championed Palestinian rights, said: “The U.S. must acknowledge its role in the human rights violations of Palestinians.” She pointed out that 29 of the 50 democratic senators in Congress had issued a joint statement to the president to order an immediate ceasefire over a week ago. Still, a number of democratic lawmakers want military aid to Israel to be conditioned by the Congressional Committee who is calling for a Congressional Review of the arms sales. In an interview with TRT World on Inside America, Former Democratic Congressman Jim Moran said: “Netanyahu wants to maintain his grip in Israel and over America. We need to resolve some of these intractable issues in the Middle East.” Moran also pointed out, that previous U.S. interventions between Israelis and Palestinians were “poorly thought out.”
