The provocations of illegal Israeli settlers, spearheaded by Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, against Al-Aqsa Mosque continue.
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported today, Thursday, that more than a thousand illegal Israeli settlers, spearheaded by Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of commemorating the so-called “destruction of the Temple.”
Our correspondent pointed out that “the settlers are performing Talmudic rituals at Bab Al-Asbat in Al-Aqsa Mosque [compound].”
Breaking News Israeli Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under the leadership of the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, in memory of the so-called "Destruction of the Temple" under Israeli forces protection. pic.twitter.com/MeScqiCfzW
On Friday evening, dozens of illegal settlers, accompanied by Ben-Gvir, began storming the Old City of occupied Al-Quds to take part in the provocative Israeli “Flag March”.
In Al-Ghazali Square, adjacent to Al-Asbat Gate, the settlers held “Talmudic rituals” amid heavy deployment of Israeli occupation forces in the area, which saw the restriction of the movement of Palestinians.
مستوطنون يؤدون طقوساً تلمودية وصلوات عند حائط البراق صباح اليوم إحياء لما يسمى ذكرى "خراب الهيكل" pic.twitter.com/AEo2ZvRtMw
Israeli occupation forces deployed heavily inside the Old City since the early hours of dawn to secure the settlers’ incursions and closed the perimeter of Bab Al-Amoud in occupied Al-Quds, where hundreds of settlers, mainly armed, arrived while yelling racist chants.
In the meantime, a group of men and women already stationed in Al-Aqsa gathered inside the Mosque, reciting takbeers, as part of their attempts to confront the settlers’ incursions and racism.
Calls spread in the occupied West Bank, Al-Quds, and the ’48 territories to confront the “Flag March” in occupied Al-Quds and the settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa, by stationing inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque today, Thursday.
All youth groups and associations in the towns and camps of occupied Al-Quds mobilized to confront the “Flag March” and the settlers’ incursions and to raise the Palestinian flag in all the squares.
The calls from Al-Quds came out as follows: “Today we renew the challenge… On the anniversary of the destruction of their temple, the settlers will storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, O our brethren and people, let us, once again, rise against their attempts and make our way toward Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Warnings against the repercussions of the “Flag March” and the implementation of a major storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque continued amid calls to confront the march by all available means.
Though the United States remains a strong supporter of Israel, there are some indications that the supposed ‘unbreakable bond’ with Tel Aviv is faltering, though more in language than in deeds.
Following the provocative ‘Flag March’ on May 18, which is carried out annually by Israeli Jewish extremists in the Occupied Palestinian city of East Jerusalem, the US joined other countries around the world in condemning the racism displayed at the event.
The language used by the US State Department was firm but also guarded. Spokesman Matthew Miller did not condemn the racist, provocative march – which involved leading Israeli officials – but the language used by the large crowds, most of whom are strong supporters of the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The United States unequivocally opposes racist language of any form,” Miller tweeted. “We condemn the hateful chants such as ‘Death to Arabs’ during today’s marches in Jerusalem.”
The United States unequivocally opposes racist language of any form. We condemn the hateful chants such as “Death to Arabs” during today’s marches in Jerusalem.
Carefully articulated not to appear as a condemnation of Israel itself, the US position is still more ‘balanced’ than previous positions, where Palestinians were often the ones associated with the US use of words such as “condemnation,” “incitement,” and the like.
On the other hand, during the Israeli bloody five-day war on Gaza, starting on May 9, Washington had resorted to the same old script, that of Israel having the ‘right to defend itself,’ thus entirely misrepresenting the events which led to the war in the first place.
This US position on Israel’s war on Gaza suggests that Netanyahu is the ‘defender’ of Israel against supposed Palestinian violence and ‘terrorism.’ But this purported champion of Israeli rights is yet to be invited to the White House five months after he returned to power at the helm of Israel’s most rightwing government in history.
Some want to believe that the decision by the Joe Biden administration to distance itself from Netanyahu was entirely altruistic. But that cannot be the case, as the US continues to back Israel militarily, financially, politically and in every other way.
The answer lies in Netanyahu’s major miscalculations of the past when he crossed a dangerous line by turning against the Democratic Party and allying his country entirely with Republicans. His tactics paid dividends during the term of Republican President Donald Trump but backfired when Trump left the White House.
Biden is unquestionably pro-Israel. Per his own repeated remarks, his support for Israel is not only political but ideological as well. “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” he has repeated, and proudly so, on several occasions.
But the US President is also anti-Netanyahu, a dislike that even preceded the Trump-Netanyahu love affair. It mostly dates back to Barack Obama’s two terms in office, when Biden was the vice president.
Netanyahu’s political shenanigans and relentless attacks on the Obama Administration at the time taught Biden that Netanyahu simply could not be trusted.
Yet, Biden, with historically low ratings among ordinary Americans, cannot possibly, on his own, challenge Netanyahu and Israel’s stronghold on Washington through its influential lobby.
Something else is at work, namely, the fact that the Democratic Party as a whole had shifted allegiances from Israel to Palestine.
This assertion would have been unthinkable in the past, but the change is real, confirmed time and again by credible polling companies. The latest was in March.
“After a decade in which Democrats have shown increasing affinity toward the Palestinians, their sympathies … now lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, 49% versus 38%,” the Gallup poll concluded.
The fact that such growing ‘affinity’ with Palestine has been taking place for at least a decade suggests that the position of the Democrats was a generational one, not an outcome of a single event.
Indeed, numerous organizations and countless individuals are working on a daily basis to create a link between ‘affinity’ and policy.
Buoyed by the growing sympathies for Palestine, a long-time advocate of Palestinians’ rights in the US Congress, Rep. Betty McCollum reintroduced, on May 5, the ‘Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act’.
Co-sponsored by 16 other members of Congress, the legislation demands that Israel must be prohibited from using “US taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank for the military detention, abuse or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.”
Two years earlier, the Intercept had reported that McCollum and her supporters were pushing towards barring US aid to Israel from “subsidizing a wider array of Israeli occupation tactics.”
Alex Kane wrote this is “an indication of just how far the debate over the US aid to Israel has come in the past six years,” a reference to 2015 when McCollum introduced the first legislation on the matter.
Since then, things have moved forward at an even more accelerated speed. The effort to hold Israel accountable has now reached the New York state assembly.
On May 16, The New York Post reported that legislation was introduced by several Democratic lawmakers aimed at blocking registered US charities from funneling money to fund illegal Israeli Jewish settlements.
The legislation, “Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act,” dares to challenge Israel on multiple fronts: the traditional power of the pro-Israel lobby, questioning US funding of Israel and confronting the channeling of funds to illegal settlements in the name of charity work.
Several reasons compel us to believe that the shift in US policy on Palestine and Israel, though slow, nuanced and, at times, symbolic, will likely continue.
One is the fact that Israel is turning towards far-right nationalism, which is increasingly difficult to defend by US liberal government and media.
Two, the steadfastness of Palestinians and their ability to overcome mainstream media restrictions and censorship that had prevented them from having any fair representation.
And finally, the dedication of numerous civil society organizations and the widening network of support for Palestinians throughout the US, which allowed courageous lawmakers to push for substantive change in policy.
Time will tell what direction Washington will take in the future. But, considering the current evidence, support for Israel is dwindling at rates that are unprecedented
The Palestinian Resistance is able to strike any Israeli settlement is wants to using its homemade rockets, PIJ chief Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh said.
The rocket that hit “Tel Aviv” and reached occupied Al-Quds during Operation Avenging the Free has a range that covers all of occupied Palestine, the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh, said Tuesday.
“The rocket that struck Tel Aviv and reached Al-Quds […] is the brainchild of the experienced specialists working in Al-Quds Brigades,” the PIJ’s military wing, Al-Nakhaleh said.
Al-Nakhalah said Friday that “Tel Aviv” and other settlements of the Zionist entity “are within the range of our rockets and the bullets of our fighters.”
During a speech at the festival commemorating the martyrs of Operation Avenging the Free in the city of Saida, south Lebanon, Al-Nakhalah said, “We meet today to honor a great group of martyrs and leaders who were killed in the treacherous aggression and to honor the two martyrs, Commander Khader Adnan and Commander Ali Al-Aswad, and everyone who ascended to martyrdom in Operation Avenging the Free.”
“The martyrdom of the commanders of Al-Quds Brigades did not cause any disruption in the movement’s military structure,” the PIJ chief underlined.
“The deputies of the slain commanders assumed responsibility immediately after the martyrdom,” the Palestinian Resistance leader revealed.
“The Islamic Jihad movement in the last battle was in a better position than any previous battles,” he told a press conference.
Furthermore, he threatened to “bomb the heart of the Zionist entity and its cities if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dares to target Islamic Jihad commanders in other areas.”
Commenting on the Israeli occupation’s provocative Flag March, Al-Nakhaleh underlined that the Israeli occupation’s actions must be dealt with, stressing that “Al-Quds is an occupied city, and we must resist and fight for its liberation.”
He also commented on the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement deal, saying it brought the region back to its natural status quo, adding that there would be positive repercussions for the Palestinian cause.
“Iran’s support for the Palestinian Resistance is unconditional. We do not have oil or military bases to offer them,” he said, adding that normalization was a great treason, and the Arab people are required to aid the Palestinian people in their steadfastness and Resistance.
In the wake of the Palestinian resistance declaring its victory in Operation Avenging the Free, Al-Nakhalah thanked all those who stood by the resistance, “led by the Islamic Republic in Iran, Hezbollah, and our brothers in Egypt and Qatar.”
Al-Nakhalah pointed out that despite “all the difficult circumstances and the imbalance of military power in favor of the enemy, our people are still fighting,” adding, “We have steadfastly and patiently fought major battles in defense of our identity and adherence to our rights, and our cause has remained alive.”
The PIJ chief considered that the occupation wanted to cast a shadow “over our cause with politics and wars, but today we stand stronger and more determined to adhere to our rights and Al-Quds.”
The Israeli occupation launched a five-day aggression against the Gaza Strip earlier in May, targeting residential houses in the north, center, and south of the Strip.
In retaliation, Al-Quds Brigades and the Palestinian Resistance factions launched Operation Avenging the Free, in which it fired advanced rockets and missiles that bypassed the Iron Dome and targeted several Israeli settlements, occupied cities, and occupation sites.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinians killed in the aggression rose to 33 martyrs, including six children and three women, and 147 people were wounded.
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The annual display of Jewish Supremacy in Palestine, known as the Flag March, is not limited to the Old City of Jerusalem. It is part of a campaign of intimidation in cities around the country that have a significant Palestinian population. This year this racist, violent display of supremacy took place in Jerusalem, Yafa ad El-Lyd.
THE TORAH SEED
What could be more innocuous than a seed? A Torah seed is a seed through which the Torah grows and spreads. Building bridges, connecting people to their ancient traditions, aiding those who are in need and generally developing communities steeped in the values of charity and goodwill. This is the veil behind which the Settler community is planting itself in what are known as “mixed cities.”
The world, and most Israeli Jews, concentrate only on the fanatic, racist gangs of settler communities in the West Bank. However, for several decades the same political, quasi-religious movement that created these awful communities has been moving into municipalities known as “mixed cities.” These include Yafa, El-Lyd, Ramle and a few others with large Palestinian populations.
Their purpose is twofold:
• To “plant the Torah seen in the Jewish communities,” or in other words, win the hearts and minds of poor, disenfranchised Israeli Jews, who typically live in “mixed cities.”
• To terrorize and eventually push out the Palestinian communities from these cities, making them pure and Jewish.
This, of course, has nothing to do with Judaism. It is yet another expression of the racist ideology which created the State of Israel and is known as Zionism.
WE ARE THE LANDLORDS
Claiming ownership of Palestine has always been an important Zionist talking point. What the Torah Seed groups are doing is marching through Palestinian neighborhoods to make that point. “We are the landlords,” we heard Itmar Ben-Gvir saying as he walked through the holy sanctuary of Al-Aqsa, and this they yell into the megaphones throughout Palestinian neighborhoods, in Yafa, El-Lyd, Ramle, Hebron, and, of course, Jerusalem.
These settlers – who many people think are confined to the West Bank – are taking over by squeezing Palestinians out. We no longer see trucks with soldiers evicting Palestinians like in 1948 or 1967. Instead, we see settler gangs armed with police protection terrorizing Palestinians and making their lives unlivable. Because these cities are within the boundaries of 1948 Palestine, it is not the army that protects these thugs but the police.
NUMBERS
In order to claim ownership of the land, Zionists have been obsessed with demographics. It was clear from the beginning that on that front, they are losing, and so they found a formula that makes it seem as though there is a Jewish majority and an Arab minority in “Israel.”
Another sign of the Zionist obsession with demographics is that the state of Israel conducts a census almost every year – and year after year for as long as I can remember, they end up with the same calculation. Not that the numbers don’t grow, but the percentage of Arabs always remains more or less at twenty percent of the total population.
We know that for decades Palestinians account for much more than twenty percent, so how does Israel do this? Well, it is not magic; they simply lie about the numbers. Israel does not count all the Palestinians, only the ones who live in the pre-1967 borders. In other words, while Jewish Israelis are counted regardless of where they live within the country, only Palestinians who live in 1948 Palestine are accounted for. This means that the state of Israel is leaving out more than five million Palestinians from their figures.
This makes sense when one considers that successive Israeli governments and Israeli society more generally see no connection to Palestinians living in the territories taken by Israel in 1967. While Palestinians who remained in 1948 are referred to as citizens, the ones who were added as a result of the 1967 occupation have no status and, therefore, do not (officially) exist.
TWO MARCHES PER YEAR
In the city of Yafa, which officially is part of the Tel Aviv municipality, the Settlers conduct two flag marches per year. One on Israeli Independence Day and one on Jerusalem Day. The city claims that it is an expression of diversity, not unlike days when Palestinians hold a Christmas parade or a Ramadan market. But there is a difference; neither the Christmas nor Ramadan events include harassment by uniformed militarized police and plain-clothed detectives.
During these parades of racism and supremacy, Palestinian citizens of the city are instructed to stay out of sight. They are subjected to searches and seizures, and they are confined to areas where they will be out of the way of the parading gangsters with flags of hate.
In the city of El-Lyd, thousands of settlers marched through the old town, through Palestinian neighborhoods and businesses, harassing and terrorizing anyone in their path. Over the years, El-Lyd has seen some of the worst violence by settler gangs, and this parade of hate and supremacy is there to let the Palestinians in the city that El-Lyd is not theirs. In 1948, the area had been subjected to brutal massacres and of the city’s 40,000 citizens, only 400 remained. Today, the Palestinian population makes up between 30% and 40% of the population.
PALESTINE IS NOT CONFINED TO THE WEST BANK
Many people still refer to 1948 Palestine as Israel and to the West Bank as Palestine. However, these people would do well to remember that until May 1948, it was all known as Palestine and that Palestinians live throughout the entire country and endure the same hate and violence regardless of where they live, what identification card they carry or whether they are counted by the Apartheid State or not.
Itamar Ben-Gvir waves a flag at the so-called ‘Flag March’ in Al-Quds on June 15.
Tensions are high in Al-Quds on Thursday as thousands of Israelis are expected to take part in the provocative so-called ‘Flag March’ in the Palestinian capital and the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.
Israeli occupation Security forces were gearing up for the controversial march, with 3,000 police officers being deployed across the holy city, Israeli media reported.
The Flag March is staged by Israeli settlers every year to mark what they call the “unification of Jerusalem”, in reference to Israeli occupation of the holy city in 1967.
Watch: Hundreds of Israeli settlers gather to take part in the provocative “Flag March” in the occupied Palestinian city of Lod, today. pic.twitter.com/ltK1REnwZO
Several members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf and ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Minister Meir Porush were slated to take part in the march, according to The Times of Israel.
Hamas: “Zionist March Won’t Pass”
Meanwhile, reports suggested that there were concerns over the possibility of Palestinian resistance operations and rocket fire from Gaza.
Hamas resistance movement threatened the Israeli occupation against holding the march.
Spokesperson Abd al-Latif al-Qanou said the battle over the Al-Aqsa Mosque is “open and ongoing,” issues call for supporters to gather to “protect and escalate the different arenas.”
Hamas spokesman in the West Bank Abdul-Latif Al-Qanou.
Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil stressed in a statement that “the Zionist Flag March will not pass, and the response will inevitably come.”
Meanwhile Gaza’s Balloon unit – responsible for launching balloons ferrying incendiary and explosive devices into occupied territories in the past – said it would resume activities Thursday.
“Israel Not Interested in Escalation”
Meanwhile, the Egyptian mediator has reportedly relayed a message to the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza that the Zionist entity is not interested in an escalation.
Al-Akhbar Lebanese daily reported that the Egyptian mediator stressed the Israeli government has no intention to change the status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Al-Aqsa Incursions
Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Al-Quds early on Thursday, ahead of the scheduled ‘Flag March’.
Hundreds of settlers reportedly entered the mosque within an hour, as the Israeli occupation forces increased security in Al-Quds.
Since the morning, at least 824 colonial Israeli settlers break into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsq Mosque courtyards in commemoration of the so-called “Jerusalem Day”, Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/Rdm9KG3t5z
The incursion occurred as occupation forces in the area tightened their measures and prevented Palestinians from entering the mosque for morning prayers.
The Old City of Al-Quds was put on high alert, with over 3,000 police officers deployed to protect the planned Israeli rampage.
The parade this year comes on the heels of last week’s brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza. The 5-day offensive resulted in the deaths of 33 Palestinians, including women and children.
Additionally, Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank on daily bases, with raids taking place in several cities including Nablus and Jenin.
Palestinian Red Crescent said it teams dealt with a rubber bullet injury and cases of suffocation during Thursday’s incursions in other areas, including Nablus, Beit Ur al-Tahta, Burqa, and Beit Lahm.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Beit Ummar Rapid Response Group in occupied Al-Khalil – confirmed that it targeted the “Karmei Tzur” illegal settlement with heavy gunfire, adding that its Resistance fighters safely withdrew from the scene.
On Thursday evening, the Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israeli occupation forces arrested a 29-year-old Palestinian youth from Ramallah, under the pretext of attempting to carry out a shooting operation in occupied Al-Quds with an M16 weapon.
Earlier today, a 14-year-old Palestinian child was wounded in the foot and shoulder by Israeli occupation gunfire in the Aida refugee camp in occupied Beit Lahm.
According to local sources, Israeli occupation forces opened fire at a child who was in the Al-Muftah area at the eastern entrance to the Aida camp, where an event to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba was being organized.
In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians flocked to the Separation Wall on the Gaza border in defiance of the so-called Israeli “Flag March” in occupied Al-Quds.
Thousands of enraged Palestinian protesters demonstrate along the Gaza Strip's borders with the 1948-occupied territories, denouncing today's Israeli extremist 'Flag March' in occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/SVLR6R6gdy
Israeli occupation forces fired a barrage of gas bombs at protesters and journalists at the Malaka refugee camp, east of Gaza.
Al Mayadeen correspondent said four Palestinians were injured, one with live bullets and three with gas bombs, as a result of Israeli occupation attacks.
In Pictures: Angry Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli occupation soldiers on the Gaza Strip's eastern border with the 1948-occupied territories during demonstrations against Israel's extreme-right provocative 'Flag March', today. pic.twitter.com/adEHUOfzKW
Khaled Al-Batsh, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement official, told Al Mayadeen, “We assure the Israelis that the battle over Al Quds is still ongoing, and this constitutes an Israeli failure over the past 75 years to enforce a different identity or any sort of sovereignty over Al-Quds.”
Khaled Al-Batsh, member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement, to #AlMayadeen: "We assure the Israelis that the battle over #AlQuds is still ongoing, and this constitutes an Israeli failure over the past 75 years to enforce a different identity or any sort of… https://t.co/hJVCxmQc6w
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 18, 2023
Illegal Israeli settlers organized on Thursday the so-called Israeli “Flag March”, while Al Mayadeen correspondent confirmed that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in the provocative march.
Watch: Illegal Israeli colonizers provocatively dance and sing at Bab Al-Amoud plaza in occupied Jerusalem, celebrating Israel's extreme-right provocative 'Flag March', today. pic.twitter.com/k5CqgRaSHN
The settlers waved Israeli occupation flags and chanted racist slogans in Bab Al-Amoud Square, one of the most famous gates of the Old City, while Palestinians raised the Palestinian flag, in defiance of the provocative march.
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank raised the #Palestinian flag in defiance of the Israeli provocative march. Israeli police fired a barrage of gas bombs at protesters and journalists at the Malaka refugee camp, east of #Gaza, leading to the injury of a protester. Israeli… pic.twitter.com/h4ebudJDJZ
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 18, 2023
Our correspondent highlighted that illegal Israeli settlers participating in the “Flag March” chanted racist slogans, calling for burning Palestinian villages and cities and forcibly expelling their residents.
In addition, Israeli occupation forces beat many Palestinian citizens and prevented the press from approaching the march’s location, where settlers planned to perform the so-called “Flag Dance”.
Israeli settlers brutally attacked #Palestinians during their provocative "Flag March" as they chanted racist slogans. Israeli occupation forces also assaulted Palestinians who were confronting the provocative march.#Palestine#AlQudspic.twitter.com/MW9PDF7lTc
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 18, 2023
Israeli settlers celebrated during their “Flag March” while assaulting #Palestinians.
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank raised the #Palestinian flag in defiance of the Israeli provocative march.
Israeli police fired a barrage of gas bombs at protesters and journalists at… pic.twitter.com/kZ3NnnFoKk— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 18, 2023
Al Mayadeen correspondent said Israeli occupation forces arrested eight Palestinians, including a woman, for the mere reason of raising the Palestinian flag in occupied Al-Quds.
The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, pointed out that the Israeli entity’s mobilization from north to south to provide protection for the so-called “Flag March” reflects the fragility the entity is experiencing at the security level.
In a press statement, Haniyeh said “the Palestinian flag, which flies over our land, consolidates the identity of the homeland and its legitimate owners.”
The Hamas leader affirmed that the chapters of confrontation with the Israeli continue, and the Palestinian people will settle the account with the occupation only when the land of Palestine is liberated.
Haniyeh pointed out that the complete closure of the Old City in Al-Quds reflects the Israeli settlers’ fear of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, stressing that what is happening now illustrates the nature of the struggle, in its religious and national dimensions.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 17, 2023
The Palestinian Resistance factions considered the so-called “Flag March” a failed attempt by the Israeli occupation to impose its control over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling for confronting the plans that target the city of Al-Quds and its sanctities.
In a joint statement, the factions stressed that the aggression targeting Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds requires an escalation of Resistance action and a great popular movement to thwart the malicious plans of the occupation.
This year’s march is taking place just days after the Israeli occupation launched an aggression on the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the martyrdom of 33 Palestinians, almost a third of whom were children and women.
Palestinians are in continuous state of resistance against daily Israeli aggression on several areas across the West Bank, amid calls to defend the holy city of Al-Quds during the provocative Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’.
Israeli occupation forces staged on Tuesday several raids and made arrests near Jericho and in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, prompting armed clashes with Palestinian resistance.
Palestinian media reported that resistance fighters opened fire at the Zionist soldiers who raided the town of Qabatiya in Jenin, and besieged a house, where resistance fighters were allegedly residing.
BREAKING: Israeli occupation forces storm Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/Usjmf6Vdxj
Al-Quds Brigades’ Qabatiya Battalion confirmed that their Mujahideen (fighters) confronted the occupation forces, reporting fierce clashes.
Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the raid, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.
The town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, the Dheisheh camp in Beit Lahm, and the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha were also among the areas targeted.
The IOF reportedly deployed snipers in multiple buildings during their storming of Aqabat Jaber, where they arrested six members of one family.
Confrontations erupted between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the IOF during the Aqabat Jaber raid, during which a citizen was injured, and ambulance crews were prevented to reach him. In another raid, the IOF stormed the town of Al-Isawiya in occupied Al-Quds and conducted a campaign of arrests.
The IOF also moved into the town of Turmus Ayya, Ramallah, where they arrested Palestinian youth Mohammad Walid Abu Awwad from his home.
These raids come just one day after the IOF shot and killed Palestinian youth Saleh Sabra during their attempt to storm the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
‘Flag March’
Meanwhile, Palestinian groups and activists have been mobilizing to defend Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa against Israeli provocations during the Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’ schedueled on Thursday.
Enitiled “The Great Dawn”, the calls urged Palestinians to head for Al-Aqsa at dawn in Thursday to confront the Israeli provocations planed during the provocative ‘Flag March’.
The Flag March is staged by Israeli settlers every year to mark what they call the “unification of Jerusalem”, in reference to Israeli occupation of the holy city in 1967.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the provocative parade will take place as planned in Al-Quds on Thursday, and that it will go through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu leads a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset in occupied Al-Quds (May 15, 2023).
“The flag march will continue as planned, as usual, on its route,” Netanyahu said at the outset of his Likud party’s Knesset faction meeting.
Israeli occupation Police approved the route last week, and said it plans to deploy more than 2,000 police officers to guard the march.
Until recently, Israeli politics did not matter to Palestinians. Though the Palestinian people maintained their political agency under the most demoralizing conditions, their collective action rarely influenced outcomes in Israel, partly due to the massive discrepancy of power between the two sides.
Now that Israelis are embarking on their fifth election in less than four years, it is important to raise the question: “How do Palestine and the Palestinians factor in Israeli politics?”
Israeli politicians and media, even those who are decrying the failure of the ‘peace process’, agree that peace with the Palestinians is no longer a factor, and that Israeli politics almost entirely revolves around Israel’s own socio-economic, political and strategic priorities.
This, however, is not exactly true.
While it is appropriate to argue that none of Israel’s mainstream politicians are engaged in dialogue about Palestinian rights, a just peace or co-existence, Palestine remains a major factor in the election campaigning of most of Israel’s political parties. Instead of advocating peace, these camps advocate sinister ideas, ranging from the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements to the rebuilding of the ‘Third Temple’ – thus the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The former is represented by ex Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett, and the latter in more extremist characters like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Hence, Palestine has always factored in Israeli politics in such a vulgar way. Even before the establishment of the state of Israel on the ruins of historic Palestine in 1948, the Zionist movement understood that a ‘Jewish state’ can only exist and maintain its Jewish majority through force, and only when Palestine and the Palestinian people cease to exist.
“Zionism is a colonizing adventure and, therefore, it stands or falls on the question of armed forces”, Zionist ideologue Ze’ev Jabotinsky wrote nearly 100 years ago. This philosophy of violence continues to permeate Zionist thought to this day. “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs. You have to dirty your hands,” said Israeli historian, Benny Morris in a 2004 interview, in reference to the Nakba and the subsequent dispossession of the Palestinian people.
Until the war of 1967, Palestinian and Arab states mattered, to some extent, to Israel. Palestinian and Arab resistance cemented Palestinian political agency for decades. However, the devastating outcome of the war, which, once again, demonstrated the centrality of violence to Israel’s existence, relegated Palestinians and almost entirely sidelined the Arabs.
Since then, Palestinians mattered to Israel based almost exclusively on Israeli priorities. For example, Israeli leaders flexed their muscles before their triumphant constituencies by attacking Palestinian training camps in Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere. Palestinians also factored in as Israel’s new cheap labor force. In some ironic but also tragic way, it was the Palestinians who built Israel following the humiliating defeat of the Naksa, or the Setback.
The early stages of the ‘peace process’, especially during the Madrid talks in 1991, gave the false impression that the Palestinian agency is finally translating to tangible outcomes; this hope quickly evaporated as illegal Jewish settlements continued to expand, and Palestinians continued to lose their land and lives at an unprecedented rate.
The ultimate example of Israel’s complete disregard for Palestinians was the so-called ‘disengagement plan’ carried out in Gaza by late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005. The Israeli government believed that Palestinians were inconsequential to the point that the Palestinian leadership was excluded from any phase of the Israeli scheme. The approximately 8,500 illegal Jewish settlers of Gaza were merely resettled in other illegally occupied Palestinian land and the Israeli army simply redeployed from Gaza’s heavily populated areas to impose a hermetic blockade on the impoverished Strip.
The Gaza siege apparatus remains in effect to this day. The same applies to every Israeli action in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Due to their understanding of Zionism and experience with Israeli behavior, generation after generation of Palestinians rightly believed that the outcome of Israeli politics can never be favorable to Palestinian rights and political aspirations. The last few years, however, began altering this belief. Though Israeli politics have not changed – in fact, pivoted further to the right – Palestinians, wittingly or otherwise, became direct players in Israeli politics.
Israeli politics has historically been predicated on the need for further colonialism, strengthening the Jewish identity of the state at the expense of Palestinians, and constant quest for war. Recent events suggest that these factors are no longer controlled by Israel alone.
The popular resistance in occupied East Jerusalem and the growing rapport between it and various other forms of resistance throughout Palestine are reversing Israel’s previous success in segmenting Palestinian communities, thus dividing the Palestinian struggle among different factions, regions and priorities. The fact that Israel is forced to seriously consider Gaza’s response to its annual provocation in Jerusalem, known as the ‘Flag March’, perfectly illustrates this.
As demonstrated time and again, the growing resistance throughout Palestine is also denying Israeli politicians the chance to wage war for votes and political status within Israel. For example, Netanyahu’s desperate war in May 2021 did not save his government, which collapsed shortly after. Bennett, a year later, hoped that his ‘Flag March’ would provoke a Palestinian response in Gaza that would buy his crumbling coalition more time. The strategic decision by Palestinian groups not to respond to Israel’s provocations thwarted Bennett’s plans. His government, too, collapsed shortly after.
Still, a week following the dismantling of Israel’s latest coalition, groups in Gaza released a video of a captured Israeli who was presumed dead, sending a message to Israel that the resistance in the Strip still has more cards at its disposal. The video raised much attention in Israel, compelling the new Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to assert that Israel has “a sacred obligation to bring home” its captives.
All these new elements have a direct impact on Israeli politics, policies and calculations, even if the Israelis continue to deny the obvious impact of Palestinians, their resistance and political strategies.
The reason why Israel refuses to acknowledge Palestinian political agency is that, in doing so, Tel Aviv would have no other alternative but to engage Palestinians as partners in a political process that could guarantee justice, equality and peaceful co-existence. Until this just peace is realized, Palestinians will continue to resist. The sooner Israel acknowledges this inescapable reality, the better.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website iswww.ramzybaroud.net
JERUSALEM – It is sometimes easier to see things from a distance, especially when talking about Palestine, where tragedies follow each other with unbelievable speed. There is no time to recover from one tragedy before two or three more occur, all initiated by Israel with its all-powerful military and then justified or buried by various branches of Zionist groups around the world.
The Dance of Flags, sometimes called the Flags March, takes place in Jerusalem each year around the beginning of June. In 2022 it was preceded by the targeted killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the assault on her funeral procession, followed by the killing of several more young Palestinians. The decision to carry out the ethnic cleansing of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills took place around the same time, yet not a moment of thought is given to the fact that there is a war going on.
The March of Flags in Jerusalem was an act of war. Israeli assaults on Jenin are an act of war. The displacement of the residents of Masafer Yatta is an act of war. And this is counting only the events that took place in the last few weeks.
THE FLAGS MARCH
Anyone who has witnessed the Dance of Flags firsthand in Jerusalem can attest to the fact that this is, without a doubt, a parade of terror. The thousands of young Israelis get excited for the moment when they enter the Old City of Jerusalem through the Damascus Gate so that they can pound on the doors of Palestinian businesses and terrorize the Palestinians who reside in the Old City.
Each year the organizers of this racist hate parade go through the formality of negotiating with the Jerusalem police regarding the specific route of the march. Every year the police and other government agencies charged with security say that the request to enter the Old City via Damascus Gate is a dangerous idea. And every year the March proceeds as planned through Damascus Gate. Being the masters of the land and wielding a great deal of political power, the organizers of the Dance of Flags always get their way.
DAMASCUS GATE
In Arabic, the Damascus Gate is called Bab el-Amoud, or the Gate of the Pillar. Apparently, in early times there was a large pillar in front of the gate on the inside. Generally, one can tell a great deal about a city just by paying attention to its gates. For example, when entering the Old City via Jaffa Gate and going down into the souk, one sees shops catering to tourists; and, in fact, most tourists and Israelis enter through there. It is considered a more “friendly” part of the Old City. The shops carry all sorts of Judaica, yarmulkes, menorahs and even IDF t-shirts.
When entering from Damascus Gate, one sees fewer tourists. Mostly Palestinians walk through it and the shops sell things that people actually need for their daily lives. Vegetables, bread, sweets, clothes and shoes. The shops that do carry items for tourists carry mostly kaffiyas and items like t-shirts that emphasize Palestine and show the Palestinian colors. The non-Palestinians walking the street down from Damascus Gate are usually hardcore Israeli settlers, who have taken over some of the homes along the road, and soldiers.
Palestanians defend against Jewish youth partaking in the Flags March, May 29, 2022. Ariel Schalit | AP
TAKING OVER
It is a straight shot walking from Damascus Gate to the al-Aqsa Mosque, and to the Western Wall – or the Kotel – plaza. The plaza used to be the Mughrabi neighborhood of the Old City. Palestinians live and have businesses in that part of the city, but settlers are targeting and taking homes there at an alarming rate. The homes that have already been taken by settlers are clearly marked and easy to spot. First, a heavy door with a bolt is placed at the front of the home. You don’t see the Palestinian homes with doors like that. An intercom is put in place and very often an armed security guard stands regularly by the door.
A large Israeli flag is displayed on the building, usually hanging from the second story balcony. It is very often that these apartments are right above shops that are still owned and operated by Palestinian merchants who suffer greatly from the settlers’ presence. As one shopkeeper whose store I frequent often said to me once, “Ma fi awsakh minhum” – no one is worse than them.
AN ACT OF WAR
According to the “Law Insider” website, an act of war is defined as follows:
Act of war (whether declared or undeclared), invasion, armed conflict or act of foreign enemy, blockade, embargo, revolution, riot, insurrection, civil commotion, act of terrorism or sabotage.
The Flags March held in Jerusalem each year falls under these definitions. It is an invasion of the Old City by a mob large enough to be a small army; it is a riot; it is civil commotion, and it is an act of terrorism that involves sabotage. Even though those who participate in this hate parade are civilians, there is always a heavy military presence that accompanies them. It was reported that in 2022 some three thousand officers were deployed in Jerusalem for the purpose of this march. That represents nearly the entire Jerusalem police force.
Israeli police snatch a flag from an elderly woman amid the Flags Day march in the Old City, May 29, 2022. Mahmoud Illean | AP
Not to be mistaken with traffic police, or cops on a beat looking for criminals, the police force that is deployed in East Jerusalem is of a different kind. This is a militarized police force and the officers are referred to as “fighters,” not officers. They look like soldiers, the arms that they carry are like those of soldiers, but their mandate is to attack Palestinian civilians, something they do with cruelty and brutality.
Zionists always blame Palestinians who respond to Israeli acts of war with acts of armed resistance against civilians. They call it terrorism. There is no question that it is terrible when civilians are killed and injured. The problem is that throughout the entire war Israel has waged against Palestinians it has been targeting civilians. There is no Palestinian military – there never was such a thing – and Israel has consistently, and with planning, targeted and killed Palestinian civilians going as far back as one can remember.
Perhaps it is time to step back and instead of viewing each act of violence perpetrated by Israel separately, instead view them all together as individual acts of a larger war – a war waged against a nation that has never possessed an army.
Three Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were killed and 129 others, including 10 children, were injured by Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) fire while dozens of others suffocated and sustained bruises in IOF attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are listed below:
On 27 May 2022, Zaid Ghuneim (14) was killed in al-Khader village, southern Bethlehem, after IOF deliberately and unjustifiably opened fire at him in their incursion into Um Rukbah area in the village and deployment between houses. (More information available here)
On 01 June 2022, Belal ‘Awad Qobha (24) was killed, and 4 others were injured in clashes during IOF incursion into Ya’bud village in Jenin. The incursion ended by exploding the family house of Diaa Hamarshah, who was previously killed after carrying out a shooting attack that killed 5 Israelis in Tel Aviv on 29 March 2022.
On 01 June 2022, Ghofran Warasnah (30) was killed with a bullet shot by IOF at the entrance to al-‘Aroub refugee camp in Hebron, allegedly for attempting to carry out a stab attack. (Further information available here)
Those injured were victims of IOF’s excessive use of force and suppression of peaceful protests and gatherings organized by Palestinian civilians and they were as follows:
On 26 May 2022, a child was wounded with a bullet in clashes that accompanied IOF’s incursion into Howara village, southeastern Nablus.
On 27 May 2022, 4 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded with rubber bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly peaceful protest in Qalqilya.
On 28 May 2022, 4 Palestinians, including 4 children, were wounded with rubber bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly peaceful protest in Qalqilya.
On 29 May 2022, IOF conducted extensive assaults during their incursion into al-Aqsa yard in East Jerusalem in the morning. They beat up elderlies, causing them fractures, during IOF’s attempt to empty the yard in order to secure the raid of more than 2600 settlers. IOF raided the mosque yard through al-Qibli praying hall side and broke the locks f the minaret of the Mughrabi Gate. They topped the nearby roofs and al-Qibli praying hall roof as well as closing it with chains. IOF also arrested 10 worshippers when they were near al-Silsilah Gate and obstructed the work of journalists, forcing them to leave the mosque yards.
In the evening, 79 Palestinians were wounded, and 50 others were arrested when IOF suppressed with sound bombs, teargas canisters and rubber bullets tens of Palestinians participating in a peaceful protest and raising Palestinian flags. The protest coincided with a rally of hundreds of settlers in the Damascus Gate yard as part of their annual flag march where they chanted racist slogans and conducted many assaults under the protection of IOF who closed the entire area. Also, clashes broke out between Palestinians and IOF and settlers that extended to East Jerusalem’s neighborhoods and villages.
On the same day, 6 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded in clashes with IOF near Howara checkpoint at the southeastern entrance to Nablus. Also, 2 Palestinians; one was a child, were wounded with bullets in clashes that accompanied IOF’s incursion into al-Duheisha refugee camp, southwestern Bethlehem. During the incursion, IOF raided a house, assaulted the residents, and destroyed the internal walls, causing severe damage to the house. Moreover, 3 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded with live and rubber bullets in clashes with IOF at the entrance to al-‘Aroub refugee camp, northern Hebron. A Palestinian was also wounded in IOF’s suppression of a peaceful protest in Husan village, western Bethlehem. Another Palestinian was wounded with a bullet in clashes with IOF near the Military Checkpoint 300, northern Bethlehem.
On 30 May 2022, 3 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded in clashes with IOF at the northern entrance to al-Bira. Also, a Palestinian was wounded with a bullet and then arrested in clashes with IOF at the entrance to Kharsa village in Hebron.
On 31 May 2022, 2 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with IOF at the northern entrance to ‘Azoun village, eastern Qalqilya.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF opened fire 6 times at agricultural lands in an access restricted area in eastern Gaza Strip. Also, five IOF shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western shore.
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So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 53 Palestinians, including 42 civilians: 12 children, 5 women (one was a journalist) and the rest were activists; 3 of them were assassinated. Also, 841 others were wounded in these attacks, including 84 children, 4 women, and 19 journalists all in the West Bank, except for 9 fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
Land razing, demolitions, notices and settlement activity
Israeli authorities demolished 2 houses and 9 residential tents, rendering 11 families of 75 persons, including 14 women and 26 children, homeless. Also, the Israeli authorities razed 3 dunums and handed 3 demolition notices in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:
On 26 May 2022, IOF razed 3 dunums in Wadi Rahal village, southern Bethlehem, uprooting tens of olive trees.
On 30 May 2022, IOF handed 3 demolition orders to 3 uninhabited houses in eastern Yatta, southern Hebron.
On 01 June 2022, IOF demolished a house in al-Issawiya village in East Jerusalem, for the sixth time in a row under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering a family of 8 persons, including 4 women and 2 children, homeless. On the same day, IOF demolished 9 residential tens and a sheep barn in Masafer Yatta area in Hebron, displacing 9 families of 60 persons, including 23 children. IOF also demolished a residential barrack, and another used as a sheep barn in addition to 4 fences in Za’im village, northern East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, displacing a family of 5, including 3 children. Moreover, IOF handed 10 cease-construction notices to facilities in Marda village, northern Salfit.
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Since the beginning of 2022, IOF rendered 76 families homeless, a total of 441 persons, including 89 women and 208 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 73 houses and 16 residential tents. IOF also demolished 47 other civilian objects, leveled 246 dunums and delivered 96 notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.
Settler-attacks on Palestinian civilians and their properties:
Settlers conducted 7 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank. The attacks included setting fire to agricultural lands and attacking vehicles, houses, and journalists. Details are as follows:
On 27 May 2022, settlers organized a flag rally in Howara village in Nablus and attacked and damaged a coffeeshop on the main street in the village.
On 28 May 2022, settlers conducted attacks on Palestinians during a flag rally organized by the former under IOF’s heavy protection. The rally took off from the Damasuc gate area towards the streets of Eat Jerusalem’s Old City On the eve of the anniversary of the occupation of the city. IOF violently assaulted 2 Palestinian children and then arrested them.
On 29 May 2022, in a flag rally in Eat Jerusalem, settlers conducted assaults against Palestinians in the Damascus Gate and several neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Settlers assaulted by hands and insults journalists in the area, wounding a number of them. The settlers also tried to raid houses in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and attacked property as well as breaking car windows.
On 30 May 2022, settlers set fire to agricultural lands in the outskirts of Madma and Burin villages in Nablus as 50 olive trees were burnt.
On 31 May 2022, settlers assaulted Palestinians in Wadi Rababa neighborhood in East Jerusalem coinciding with an Israel Nature Authority’s razing operation in the area. Settlers also threw stones at a vehicle and broke its windows in addition to attacking the passengers and causing them bruises and wounds.
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So far this year, settlers carried out 140 attacks on Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:
IOF carried out 212 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 117 Palestinians, including 11 children and a journalist, were arrested; most of them were arrested during IOF’s incursion into al-Aqsa Mosque yards and suppression that coincided with the Israeli flag march in East Jerusalem. Moreover, IOF arrested 10 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 2 infiltrators via eastern Rafah on 26 May and 8 fishermen while sailing off Rafah shore on 31 May. Six of the fishermen were released the next day (further details available here).
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So far in 2022, IOF conducted 3577 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 2495 Palestinians were arrested, including 249 children and 17 women. IOF also conducted 16 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 52 Palestinians, including 35 fishermen, 14 infiltrators, and 3 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.
Israeli collective punishment and closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 15-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly update on the Gaza crossings.
In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 108 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 3 Palestinians at those checkpoints.
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So far in 2022, IOF established 1709 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 101 Palestinians at those checkpoints
Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under protection from the Israeli occupation forces, and dozens of Palestinians suffered from suffocation with tear gas in Al-Isawiya.
Israeli occupation forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
Settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday morning, under protection from the Israeli occupation forces, Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.
Our correspondent reported that the occupation forces had locked the worshipers of the Al-Qibli prayer hall inside it with chains. The IOF targeted then proceeded worshippers in the Al-Qibli prayer hall with rubber bullets leaving several injured. These measurements were taken to secure the settlers’ incursions.
Earlier, dozens of Palestinians suffocated from tear gas, as they confronted the Israeli forces that stormed the town of Al-Isawiya, northeast of occupied al-Quds. In the town of Al-Isawiya. The IOF also targeted Palestinian citizens with rubber-coated metal bullets according to the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA).
Moreover, local Palestinian sources confirmed the outbreak of confrontations between Palestinians and the occupation forces at the Shuafat camp checkpoint in occupied al-Quds.
Yesterday, Hamas and the Palestine Scholars Association (PSA) called on young Palestinians to resist occupation forces in Al-Aqsa Mosque and “thwart the Israeli plans aimed at Judaizing it.”
Harun Nasir al-Din, head of Hamas’ al-Quds affairs office stated that “protecting Al-Aqsa is a national and religious duty.”
Last Sunday, settlers organized an Israeli flag march. It took place in the streets from Bab al-Amoud and the alleys of occupied old Al-Quds to the courtyard of the Al-Buraq Wall. During the march, occupiers raised the Israeli flag as well as posters containing racist slogans against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. In addition, settlers called for the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
What Iran’s retaliation in March showed was that the Islamic Republic is willing to turn up the heat on “Israel” when the time is right to do so.
Has “Israel” Crossed A Red Line With Iran?
The Zionist regimes’ provocations against Iran have been constant for years, but has its latest actions crossed a red line for which “Tel Aviv” may pay dearly?
It is no secret that “Israel” played a large role in the propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which provided the excuse for the US government to violate the Obama-era Nuclear Deal, paving the way for a sanctions war on Tehran. Israeli allegations of a coming Iranian Nuclear Weapon can be traced back to October 1992, when former Israeli President Shimon Peres claimed that Tehran would have the bomb by 1999. Therefore, such claims are rarely taken seriously by any reputable international organization.
The latest attempt to scaremonger, over an alleged Iranian pursuit of nukes, by “Israel”, came this Tuesday from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Bennett claimed, in a similar style to former Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, through preschooler geared presentations, that “Israel” had obtained secret files which prove Iran’s lies about its nuclear weapons program. Evidently, there is no evidence that such a nuclear weapons program exists, let alone that “Israel’s” newly released documents prove that Tehran tricked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Whilst this type of propaganda from “Tel Aviv” is certainly a nuisance to Iran, it does not exactly warrant any sort of crushing response, but when it is combined with the Zionist regime’s recent actions, it may be doing the opposite of helping the Zionist cause.
It is well known now that an Israeli role has been alleged in the assassination of Quds Force General, Qassem Soleimani, back in January of 2020. Then, on November 27, 2020, agents, said to have been working on behalf of the Israeli Mossad, assassinated Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Iranian soil. There was also the attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in 2021, which Iranian officials blamed on “Israel”. These are but a few of the most recent provocations by “Israel” against Iran.
The latest assassination carried out by Israeli Mossad took place in Tehran, claiming the life of Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a member of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). The following day, “Israel’s” minister of war, Benny Gantz applauded a recent US government position to not budge on the issue of taking the IRGC off of Washington’s designated “terrorist organizations” list. It has become clear that not only will “Israel” carry out such assassinations, but it insists on attempting to rub such actions in the faces of the Iranians.
If anything can be learned from Tehran’s newly set rules of engagement, it is that engagement in a tit-for-tat battle with “Israel” is no problem at all for the IRGC. Following the killing of 2 Iranian nationals in an Israeli airstrike, in the vicinity of Syria’s capital city, Damascus, Iran announced it would take revenge. On March 13, Iran’s IRGC launched around a dozen ballistic missiles into Erbil, Iraq, targeting Israeli Mossad bases. According to reports, three Mossad agents were killed and 7 were wounded.
What Iran’s retaliation in March showed was that the Islamic Republic is willing to turn up the heat on “Israel” when the time is right to do so. Despite clear indications that Tehran will respond to the latest assassination of its IRGC member, “Tel Aviv” can’t seem to help itself when it comes to rubbing salt into the wound. This has been done through its anti-Iranian rhetoric, and also by provoking the Palestinian Resistance and all the regional forces, by crossing all red lines in occupied Al-Quds, desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound last Sunday during the Israeli settlers’ “Flag march”.
If the Zionist regime was a boxer, it would be running around taunting its opponent blindfolded, with its chin out, confident that it won’t get hit. It’s easy to see how, with a little patience, the resistance forces in the region will dish out a serious blow. “Israel” has been repeatedly warned to not cross certain red lines and continually crosses those red lines, dancing on the graves of those it kills when it gets there.
It is just a matter of time before Iran takes its revenge, along with the other resistance forces in the region, and the immature settler leaders will surely pay dearly for their words and deeds.
The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.
اليوم المقدسيّ والفلسطينيّ الفاصل كان نقطة تحول هامة في تاريخ الصراع المصيري والوجودي مع كيان الاحتلال، فهذا اليوم كان لتسجيل النقاط وتفادي الاحتكام للضربة القاضية، فمن جهة شهدنا حشداً للمستوطنين نحو باحات المسجد الأقصى بالأعلام والطقوس التلمودية خلال فترات الصباح، خارج توقيت مسيرة الأعلام، وشهدنا في مسيرة الأعلام حشداً مضاعفاً لما كانت عليه المسيرة تقليدياً كل عام، وترافق ذلك مع اعتداءات على الشبان الفلسطينيين من عناصر الشرطة والمستوطنين، ومواكبة من آلاف عناصر الشرطة للحدث بكل وحشية الأداء وعنصريته، لكننا بالمقابل شهدنا حضوراً فلسطينياً غير مسبوق في أحياء القدس وشوارعها يرفع الأعلام الفلسطينية ويشتبك ببسالة مع المستوطنين والشرطة، ويدفعهم مراراً إلى خارج المدينة المقدسة، وشهدنا خروجا لمئات الشبان في مدن الضفة يشعلون الحرائق قرب حواجز جيش الاحتلال، وفي باحات الأقصى كان المرابطون يصرخون بملء الصوت بوجه المستوطنين والشرطة.
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على الخط الدولي الإقليمي ثبت أن واشنطن والعواصم الإقليمية المنتدبة للوساطة مع قوى المقاومة، خصوصاً القاهرة والدوحة، حاضرة على خط المتابعة رغم انشغالاتها الكبرى على جبهة التصعيد مع موسكو وبكين، انطلاقاً من إدراكها مدى خطورة خروج الأمور عن السيطرة في منطقة شديدة الحساسية في سوق الطاقة والممرات التجارية، في عالم يشهد أزمات متصاعدة في المجالين الحيويين، ومعرفتها بأن حجم التوتر على محاور عديدة بين دول وقوى محور المقاومة وكيان الاحتلال، سيفرض تحول أي شرارة مواجهة بين جيش الاحتلال وقوى المقاومة في غزة، الى مشروع حرب إقليمية، خصوصاً عندما يكون عنوان الشرارة المسجد الأقصى والمقدسات.
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في الشأن الصهيوني الداخلي، نجح رئيس حكومة الاحتلال نفتالي بينيت في الربح بالنقاط على منافسه اليميني بنيامين نتنياهو، الذي رعى مسيرة الأعلام الصهيونية العام الماضي، وصولاً لاندلاع معركة سيف القدس ونهايتها لغير صالحه، ومحاولة نتنياهو ابتزاز حكومة بينيت لدفعها للتراجع عن المسيرة لتفادي المواجهة مع المقاومة، ما يسهل إسقاطها وجعلها تدفع ثمن الضعف أمام المقاومة، في ظل تحكم المستوطنين واليمين المتطرف في الشارع الصهيوني الناخب، وتحدر بينيت من رحم هذا الشارع، فنجح بينيت بمقايضة التزامه بضوابط الخطوط الحمراء للمقاومة، التي رسمتها الوساطة المصرية القطرية عشية انطلاق المسيرة، وعنوانها عدم دخول المشاركين في المسيرة المسائية الى باحات المسجد الأقصى أو اقترابهم منها، والسيطرة على تحركاتهم داخل الأحياء العربية في القدس، وبالمقابل رفع بينيت سقف المشاركين في المسيرة عدداً، وسمح لهم بالمرور من باب العامود، الذي تهرب نتنياهو من إتاحة عبوره أمام مسيرة العام الماضي، وترك بعضهم يدخل الباحات صباحاً مقابل التشدد الكامل بإبعاد مسيرة المساء عن المسجد وباحاته.
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قوى المقاومة رسمت خطوطها الحمراء تحت عنوانين، الأول حرمة المسجد الأقصى على مسيرة الأعلام، والثاني حدود انضباط المسيرة في أحياء القدس لجهة عدم الإقدام على اقتحام البيوت والمتاجر والاعتداء على السكان. وفي تقييم اليوم المفصلي، كان المردوع هم المستوطنين وليس المقدسيين، فقد نقلت الكاميرات صورهم وهم يهربون مذعورين أمام المقدسيين داخل أحياء القدس ويغادرونها الى باب العامود، وكان المردوع هو حكومة بينيت وجيش الاحتلال بإنهاء المسيرة عند حائط البراق، دون أي تورط بالاقتراب من باحات المسجد الأقصى أو محاولة دخولها، وكانت الأعلام الفلسطينية ترفرف في سماء القدس ومسيرة أعلام فلسطينية تجوب شوارعها، في توازن يعكس حقيقة توازن الردع.
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يمكن القول إن بينيت ربح على نتنياهو، وإن المقاومة أثبتت خطوطها الحمراء، لكن بينيت سيستطيع تمويه تراجعه أمام المقاومة بتقدمه على نتنياهو، لكن مقولة القدس عاصمة موحدة للكيان سقطت بقوة الحضور الفلسطيني فيها، الذي قال إن أية عاصمة يحتاج حملة الأعلام فيها الى حشد آلاف الجنود للعبور في شوارعها؟
Israel is desperate to re-establish the ‘deterrence equation’ it lost last May, while the Palestinian resistance intends to do everything necessary to maintain and advance it.
After enduring heavy Israeli provocations during the holy month of Ramadan, Palestinians will be tested again this Sunday with the Flag March – an annual Jewish celebration of the 1967 capture of Palestine’s Old City in East Jerusalem.
Tensions are rife in Jerusalem. This year and next, Ramadan falls on the same month as Jewish religious holidays, each offering a pretext for Israeli extremists to taunt, injure, and kill Palestinians in occupied lands.
So if Sunday’s march doesn’t provoke a conflagration, there is still 2023 to contend with.
Israel can no longer control outcomes
For years, Israel has been surveilling Palestinian movements in an effort to predict the eruption of a new uprising (Intifada), but has been unable to determine when it will take place.
Last March, for example, a report by the Israeli Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) identified several incidents that could lead to a large-scale confrontation in Palestine – and the likely locations for it. And, indeed, the expected happened.
But what the Shin Bet report did not say was that Israel itself is pushing for this confrontation so that it can choose the time and place in order to try to control the outcome.
The evidence abounds: Israel allows hundreds, even thousands, of extremist settlers a free hand to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to perform Jewish Passover rites at the Muslim site. This year, they were not allowed to conduct animal sacrifices inside courtyard of the Mosque, but that may happen next year.
The Israeli army accompanies and protects Jewish settlers during their attacks on Palestinian cities, towns, and villages of the occupied West Bank. The examples are countless; the difficulty is in predicting the results of the ensuing clashes.
Tel Aviv seeks an escalation of tensions, but without a Palestinian reaction. While Israel presents itself as a secular state, its barely veiled ambition is to Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the Temple of David over its ruins.
Israel’s strategy is to emulate the Ibrahimi Mosque model in Hebron: to incrementally divide Al-Aqsa by allocating times for Jews to perform religious rites within the courtyards of the mosque – then expand those rights. This is significantly equal to the construction of a Temple.
Palestinians thwarted Israel’s efforts during both this and last year’s Ramadan. Last month, their resistance factions were careful – particularly in the Gaza Strip – not to engage in a bloody confrontation, but allowed Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1948 areas to rise up instead.
The Flag March provocation
Israel’s right-wing government and parties know full well that canceling the Flag March – or even diverting its path away from Al-Aqsa – constitutes a submission to the Palestinian resistance factions.
Palestinians are now demanding the marchers be prevented from entering the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and Bab al-Amud. This is a dangerous request for a state like Israel that relies mainly on the principle of deterrence and the excessive use of force to subjugate its opponents.
The two reported routes that Israeli extremists will take through Jerusalem’s Old City before converging at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
About a week ago, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli security establishment was preparing for the Flag March with “high alertness for the possibility of escalation,” pointing out that “all the bodies, the Shin Bet, the army and the police, recommended that the march take place as planned.”
In short, the very security establishment that ostensibly seeks to quash opportunities for a Palestinian intifada, are recommending that Jewish marchers traipse through the historically sensitive Bab al-Amud.
The Israeli security establishment has warned that any change in the route “will be interpreted as Israeli weakness,” and has recommended a “fierce response” to any Palestinian action.
Although Israel claims it is ready for further clashes with Gaza, it tried to avoid this outcome during Ramadan. It seems, however, that Tel Aviv’s calculations have changed after a series of developments, which include Hamas Gaza Leader Yahya Sinwar’s threat – in a speech at the end of Ramadan – that the resistance will wage a war to defend its victories in the May 2021 Sayf Al Quds battle over the sanctity of Jerusalem.
The perceived higher threat level has made Israeli police, in several subsequent provocative activities organized by Jewish settlers, reduce their numbers in Al-Aqsa and ban them from raising Israeli flags.
Internal political collapse
Domestically, Israel is in trouble. The government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is in imminent danger of collapse. That possibility appears to increase if he shows inaction or failure in dealing with security issues, whether in the occupied West Bank or in the Gaza Strip.
Bennett’s government is under pressure from parties even further to his right, who represent a large number of Israeli votes that he does not want to lose. And hawkish former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, eager to return to the post he occupied for 15 years, is nipping at Bennett’s heels.
Amid the internal political crisis, Israel’s security establishment fears losing much of its deterrent power against Palestinian resistance factions, newly armed with enhanced missile technology, drone capabilities, and unprecedented field coordination. Indeed, the Israelis have come to feel that the factions are controlling the internal scene.
Is war imminent?
There are a number of indicators that a confrontation is more likely to unfold in the next few days than at any time this year.
First, on 9 May, the Israeli army launched its largest ever military exercise, Chariots of Fire, which involves nearly all units of the Israeli army, and simulates the outbreak of war on several fronts with Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.
Second, since the start of the maneuver, increased flights of reconnaissance planes – AWACS and others – have been observed over Gaza. Sources in the resistance factions interpret this as an attempt by the Israeli army to accumulate a new target bank to be used in any upcoming confrontation.
Third, Palestinian factions have raised their alert levels since the start of Israel’s military maneuvers. According to sources in Gaza, there are strict measures on the movements of the senior resistance military leaders and precautionary measures in the movement of monitoring units, as well as the cancellation of training courses.
Fourth, from a wholly Israeli point of view, the army believes it has not taken any action against Gaza since 2008. In its mind, in both 2014 and 2021, it was the resistance that decided to ‘launch a confrontation’ after Israel’s many provocations against Palestinians, including attacks, assassinations, and sieges.
But the Sayf al Quds (Sword of Jerusalem) war in May 2021, was the most dangerous Israel has encountered in recent decades. Small-scale Israeli aggressions in Jerusalem provoked all the occupied territories and unified Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem and 1948 Palestinians – depriving the Israeli security establishment of their ability to compartmentalize and control each of these four ‘units.’
For this fifth reason, there is an urgent Israeli need to re-establish the psychology of deterrence and to rearrange the Palestinian scene into a manageable and predictable state.
Sixth, the resistance estimates that Israel may take advantage of current tensions to carry out assassinations of their most influential leaders, especially Yahya Sinwar, Ziad al-Nakhaleh, Muhammad al-Deif and Marwan Issa. These leaders have contributed heavily to the increase in Israel’s threat perception by keeping their ranks battle-ready and by unifying the Gaza, Jerusalem and West Bank arenas of confrontation.
In anticipation of renewed targeted killings, Hamas Political Bureau Leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a warning in an 18 May letter to regional mediating states that any assassination policy adopted by Tel Aviv would lead to a major war. The resistance believes that Israel will use the cover of ongoing military maneuvers to direct a severe blow to their command and control centers in order to contain a harsh Palestinian reaction.
On the seventh point, noting that the Gaza resistance has not escalated its rhetoric – setting a date for firing rockets, for example – Israel decided to proceed with the Flag March, providing that another security assessment is conducted on the night prior.
As a Palestinian security source told The Cradle: “Something unusual should have happened to change the course of the march, because the threats until this moment are low-level.”
Then, in yet another unfolding development, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, in his 25 May speech commemorating the liberation of southern Lebanon, announced – on behalf of the entire Axis of Resistance – that the attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock “will lead to the detonation of the region.”
In the following hours, the plan for the Israeli Flag March was temporarily halted and attempts were made to reduce the heat. According to Israel Hayom newspaper, directly after Nasrallah’s speech, Israel made contact with Egypt, the United Nations, and Qatar to prevent further escalation.
Palestinian resistance factions, however, are in a state of absolute preparedness. They know not to be placated by deceptive Israeli statements, because they continue to observe active Israeli preparations on the ground. A resistance security source says Tel Aviv is frantic, and that there is an “urgent Israeli strategic interest to undermine the state of mutual deterrence between the resistance and the occupation.” Nothing will move Israel from this obsession to establish perceived strength.
The most clear expression of this was voiced by Yossi Yehoshua in Yedioth Ahronoth when he wrote that “all [Israeli] security chiefs warn that changing the course of the Flag March at the last minute will be interpreted as weakness.”
It’s getting hot in here
It is important to understand that the Israeli army pronounced Gaza “deterred” in May 2021, just before battles broke out across occupied Palestine. The Israeli army believed that Gaza would not react because it feared another Israeli military operation. Israel’s military establishment has, once again, made that same assessment this year.
But this is not necessarily true. The last hours leading up to Sunday’s Flag March may carry a new statement by the Chief of Staff of Al-Qassam Brigades Muhammad al-Deif, in which he renews intent to establish red lines around Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Gaza resistance sources confirmed to The Cradle that although they tried to preserve the ‘deterrence equation’ without entering into a new confrontation during Ramadan, there is a strict decision to prevent Israel from reversing the advantages gained from last May’s Sayf al Quds war. Such a reversal, one source adds, “will mean an acceleration in the Judaization of the Holy City.”
Hours from now, 16,000 Jewish settlers will rally for the Flag March, waving Israel flags in besieged Palestinian areas, to signal their absolute sovereignty over the city, its neighborhoods, and its holy sites.
Until Sunday, many international and regional mediations will take place behind the scenes in an attempt to reach a solution. However, even if the event in Jerusalem passes without escalation, there are no indications that the operations in the Palestinian cities or the clashes in the West Bank will stop.
In the West Bank, the scene is developing quickly. The Jenin Brigade model has been replicated in other cities, such as Nablus and Tulkarm. Entering these cities, with their vast areas and overcrowded, heavily armed camps, will make staying on the brink of confrontation a permanent situation.
This scene, with all its details, suggests that periods of calm have become a thing of the past. Israel is well aware of this. The resistance factions believe that a battle is inevitable – if not now, then very soon, but they will not allow it to be on “the date set by the Israelis.”
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Israeli occupation forces storm the Al-Qibli prayer hall and seal its doors with iron chains, in an attempt to secure the settlers’ “Flag March”.
The Dome of the Rock Mosque in Al-Aqsa compound (Archive)
Al Mayadeen correspondent in occupied Al-Quds reported Sunday that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and encircled the worshipers inside Al-Qibli prayer hall.
Our correspondent indicated that at 5 am, the IOF stormed Al-Qibli prayer hall and sealed its doors with iron chains. The occupation forces also set up a barrier in the Old City of Al-Quds to prevent Palestinians from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque.
About 1,000 Israeli settlers raided the Old City of Al-Quds on Sunday, waving Israeli flags and provoking the city’s residents.
In light of the preparations for the “Flag March” in Al-Quds, the head of Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said that “all options are on the table, and we are ready for all possible scenarios.”
Haniyeh added that the occupation wishes to make the “Flag March” an attempt to undermine the accomplishment of the Seif Al-Quds battle and to bypass the fervor created after the battle, “but we will say clearly that the clock will not turn back, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is our right and it belongs to us.”
He further clarified that the nation, the people, and the Resistance are all ready to deal with any developments that may occur on Sunday and considered the spearhead of the developments to be “our people in Al-Quds, who never thought twice about defending Al-Aqsa, the West Bank, and the ’48 territories, and Gaza will remain as their sword and shield.”
Similarly, the Palestinian Resistance factions warned the Israeli occupation from committing any foolishness by allowing the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and carrying out the “Flag March”, stressing that this scheme would detonate the regional situation.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 28, 2022
Simultaneously, Israeli media outlets said that the occupation has deployed additional Iron Dome systems in the occupied territories. Israeli Channel 12 said that occupation forces deployed these systems to intercept rockets in the occupied Palestinian lands.
قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي تحاصر المعتكفين داخل المصلى القبلي وتقتحم باحات المسجد الأقصى، وتقيم حاجزاً في البلدة القديمة بالقدس لمنع الفلسطينيين من الوصول.
مسجد قبة الصخرة داخل مجمع المسجد الأقصى في القدس 27 أيار/ مايو 2022 (أ ف ب).
أفادت مراسلة الميادين في القدس المحتلة، اليوم الأحد، بأن قوات الاحتلال اقتحمت باحات المسجد الأقصى وحاصرت المعتكفين داخل المصلى القبلي.
مجموعات من المستوطنين تقتحم المسجد الأقصى هذه اللحظات تحت حماية قوات الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/G2cSvikgkn
وأوضحت مراسلتنا أنه عند الخامسة فجراً اقتحمت قوات الاحتلال المسجد القبلي وأغلقت الأبواب بالسلاسل الحديدية، كذلك أقامت قوات الاحتلال حاجزاً في البلدة القديمة بالقدس لمنع الفلسطينيين من الوصول إلى الأقصى.
واعتقلت قوات الاحتلال عدداً من الفلسطينيين في الأقصى أثناء اقتحام المستوطنين لباحاته.
واستباح نحو ألف مستوطن البلدة القديمة في القدس أمس السبت، وهم يرفعون أعلام الاحتلال ويستفزّون السكان.
يذكر أن قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي تُعدّ اليوم لما يُعرف بـ “مسيرة الأعلام”، فيما أكّدت “حماس” أنّ “هناك ثلاثية متأهبة للتعامل مع تطورات الموقف اليوم، وهي الأمّة والشعب والمقاومة”.
وفي هذا السياق، ذكرت وسائل إعلام إسرائيلية، السبت، أنّ “حماس أطلقت 8 صواريخ من غزة في إطار تجارب نحو البحر، كإشارة تحذير لإسرائيل”.
كذلك ذكر الإعلام الإسرائيلي أنّ الاحتلال “نشر مزيداً من منظومة القبة الحديدية في الداخل الفلسطيني” المحتل. وقالت “القناة الـ12” إنّ قوات الاحتلال نشرت مزيداً من منظومة القبة الحديدية لاعتراض الصواريخ في الداخل الفلسطيني المحتل.
في المقابل، حذّرت فصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية الاحتلالَ الإسرائيلي من “ارتكاب أي حماقة عبر السماح باقتحام المسجد الأقصى من خلال تنظيم مسيرة الأعلام الإرهابية”، مؤكّدةً أنّ “هذا المُخطط سيكون بمنزلة برميل بارود سينفجر ويُشعل المنطقة بأكملها”.
بعدما تمّ سحب احتمال إلغاء مسيرة الأعلام من بين الاحتمالات المطروحة في التداول لما سيجري يوم الأحد المقبل، صار الأمر بين مسيرة محدودة العدد منضبطة السلوك، أو مسيرة تصعيدية استفزازية بعدد وسلوك المشاركين فيها. وفي حالة المسيرة الرمزية التي تحفظ مبدأ الإحياء للمناسبة وطقوسها المحدودة دون الذهاب الى المسار التصعيدي، سيكون ممكناً تفادي الانزلاق إلى مواجهة أولى في القدس مع أبناء الأحياء العربية، وثانية مع المرابطين في المسجد الأقصى، وتالياً تفادي موجة تصعيد تنطلق من قوى المقاومة في غزة رداً على الاستفزازات، وهذا سوف يعني ثلاثة أشياء، الأول أن واشنطن وتل أبيب تستوعبان معنى تهديدات المقاومة في غزة، والتزام محور المقاومة معها، وتدركان مفاعيل موازين القوى وتبعات تسييلها في مواجهة مقبلة، ومخاطر خروجها عن السيطرة، وفتح الباب لجولة حرب إقليمية لن تكون في صالح كيان الاحتلال. والثاني أن لواشنطن القدرة على ممارسة الضغط وتحقيق الضبط على أداء وسلوك كيان الاحتلال وحكومته وجيشه، وبالتوازي قدرة حكومة وجيش الاحتلال على ضبط جموع المستوطنين والكيانات المتطرفة، رغم كل ما يقال عن تضعضع سلسلة الضبط من واشنطن الى تل أبيب الى حراك المستوطنين. أما الشيء الثالث الذي سيعنيه ذلك فهو أن جموع المستوطنين والمتطرفين رغم السقف العالي لخطابها، ومحاولتها دفع الحكومة والجيش الى مواقف تصعيدية، قد فقدت الكثير من زخمها، وحيويتها، بعدما تسلل ميزان الردع الى صفوفها، في ظل مشاهد التزاحم نحو الهجرة من الكيان، وستكون الحصيلة الإجمالية لهذه العناصر دخول المنطقة مرحلة جديدة، سيكون فيها فرصة لفرض موازين الردع وفقاً للروزنامة التي أعلنتها المقاومة في غزة، سواء في ملف فك الحصار أو في ملف الأسرى وتبييض السجون.
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الاحتمال الثاني أن تخرج مسيرة الأعلام بصورة استفزازية عدداً وسلوكاً، وأن يؤدي هذا الطابع إلى وقوع الصدام بين المشاركين والشرطة، وصولا لتفريق المسيرة عند بلوغها منطقة خطر التصادم مع المقدسيين والمرابطين. وهذا يعني أن واشنطن وتل أبيب تعملان وفق سلسلة السيطرة والضبط، وانهما تدركان موازين الردع ومخاطر العبث معها، وتخشيان التدحرج نحو تصعيد يفتح الباب لحرب إقليمية، لكن جموع المستوطنين والمتطرفين لم تبلغهما بعد رياح الردع، لكن هذه الرياح لفحت الشرائح الأوسع في الكيان وخلقت توازن قوى سياسي داخلي جديد في التجمع الصهيوني لصالح خيار تفادي المواجهة، لكن هذا يعني أن حكومة وجيش الاحتلال يملكان مصدر قوة جديداً، يتمثل بهذا التحول في التجمع الصهيوني لغير صالح خيار التصعيد، وفي هذه الحالة سنكون أمام مسار متعرج في العلاقة بين الاحتلال وقوى المقاومة، ستحتاج فيه كل حلقة من حلقات المواجهة المقبلة إلى جولة كبيرة أو صغيرة، كما سيعني مزيداً من المواجهات في الضفة ومحاولات جيش الاحتلال لتظهير القدرة.
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الاحتمال الثالث هو أن تقع المواجهة بين المسيرة الاستفزازية والناشطين الفلسطينيين في القدس من مقدسيين ومرابطين، وتنضم شرطة الاحتلال الى المستوطنين في مواجهة الفلسطينيين، وتتصاعد المواجهة، وتنتقل إلى مواجهات شعبية في الضفة الغربية والأراضي المحتلة عام 1948، بين الشباب الفلسطيني وشرطة الاحتلال. وفي هذه الحالة سنكون على موعد مع موقف عالي النبرة لفصائل المقاومة بمثابة إنذار بموعد إطلاق الصواريخ ما لم تتوقف الاستفزازات والاعتداءات، ويكون الباب قد فتح أمام جولة مواجهة قال الأمين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله، إنه باب نحو احتمال تفجير المنطقة. وهذا يعني أن قيادة الكيان السياسية والعسكرية التي تدرك الموازين الجديدة، تدرك أن الانكفاء الأميركي عامل ثابت، وان مواجهة تجري الآن تسهم بتهيئة التجمع الصهيوني لترسيم حدود القوة، عبر جولة تصب الماء البارد على الرؤوس الحامية سواء للمستوطنين او للتجمع الأوسع للكيان، وتستدرج تدخلاً دولياً لوقف المواجهة بفتح باب للتفاوض حول ملفات صناعة الاستقرار المتوسط المدى، وخصوصاً ملفات الأسرى وفك الحصار والقدس.
Young Zionists gathering with Israeli flags in Jerusalem. (Photo: via Social Media)
Despite warnings of serious repercussions and violence, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided on Friday not to change the route of the controversial Israeli ‘flag march’, which will pass through occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reported.
A statement from Bennett’s office said the Israeli Prime Minister spoke over the phone with Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai, and other security officials, to finalise preparations for holding the march on Sunday as planned.
"Israeli nationalists participate in an annual so-called Flag March in occupied East Jerusalem – but what is it, and why is it controversial?"
Bennett said that the march will end in the courtyard of Al-Buraq Wall, or Western Wall, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and will not pass through Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The annual ‘flag march’ is expected to pass through Bab Al-Amud area (Damascus Gate area) and East Jerusalem’s Old City.
"Around 16,000 ultra-nationalists will take part in Sunday's annual Flag March, an event riddled with 'displays of incitement, Jewish dominance and racism'"
Palestinian resistance group Hamas warned Israel that it risks another war if it allows the march through Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is located in 1967. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move never recognized by the international community.
On June 15th, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries and raised its level of alert ahead of the Jerusalem Flag March.
Hamas warned it would respond to the right-wing march if it goes through as planned, potentially with rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Omer Bar-Lev, the newly sworn-in public security minister after a meeting with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and representatives of several Israeli defense agencies allowed the march to go on as planned.
“I was under the impression that the police is well prepared and that a great effort has been made to safeguard the delicate fabric of life and public safety,” Bar-Lev said in a statement.
Hamas warned Israel that the march will renew unrest, less than a month after the two sides reached a cease-fire following 11 days of fighting in Gaza.
“We are calling on Palestinians in Jerusalem and within the Green Line to halt the march tomorrow,” said Hamas spokesman Abdulatif al-Qanua on Monday. He dubbed the march, in which right-wing groups parade through the Old City carrying Israeli flags, a “fuse for a new explosion for the protection of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem.”
Assailing the march as a “provocation”, Palestinian factions have called for a “Day of Rage” in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“We warn of the dangerous repercussions that may result from the occupying power’s intention to allow extremist Israeli settlers to carry out the Flag March in occupied Jerusalem tomorrow,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Twitter.
The original march was re-routed to avoid the walled Old City’s Muslim Quarter on May 10th in Jerusalem.
Israeli rightists accused their government of caving into Hamas by changing its route. They rescheduled the procession after an Egyptian-mediated Gaza truce took hold.
A route change or cancellation of the procession could expose Bennett’s patchwork coalition to accusations from Netanyahu, now in the opposition, and his right-wing allies of giving Hamas veto power over events in Jerusalem.
Palestinian protests were planned across the Gaza Strip, and Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction have called on Palestinians to flock to the Old City to counter the march.
“Tensions (are) rising again in Jerusalem at a very fragile & sensitive security & political time, when UN & Egypt are actively engaged in solidifying the ceasefire,” U.N. Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said on Twitter.
“Urge all relevant parties to act responsibly & avoid any provocations that could lead to another round of confrontation,” he said.
The formation of Bennett’s alliance of right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Arab parties, with little in common other than a desire to unseat Netanyahu, capped coalition-building efforts after March 23 elections, Israel’s fourth in two years.
Minutes after meeting Bennett, 49, on his first full day in office, Netanyahu repeated a pledge to topple his government.
“It will happen sooner than you think,” Netanyahu, 71, who spent a record 12 straight years in office, said in public remarks to legislators of his right-wing Likud party.
– بعد شهر من انطلاق معركة سيف القدس، شهد خلاله كيان الاحتلال عمليات فك وتركيب سياسيّة عبرت عن نتائج الفشل السياسي والعسكري خلال المعركة، والذهاب الى ارتضاء الوصاية الأميركيّة طلباً للحماية، وتلبية شروطها بإزاحة بنيامين نتنياهو من رئاسة الحكومة، تعود القضايا التي فجّرت المعركة الى الواجهة مجدداً، المستوطنون يمسكون بدفة القرار الميداني في شارع الكيان ويقودون الصف السياسي، وقد حسموا أمرهم بالمضي في عمليات التطهير العرقي داخل الأراضي المحتلة عام 48 وفي القدس تحقيقاً لدولتهم اليهودية. وبالمقابل الجيل الفلسطيني الثالث أو جيل الألفية الثالثة الناهض لمواجهة توحّش المستوطنين وانكشاف كذبة الديمقراطية، والجامع للضفة الغربية والقدس والأراضي المحتلة عام 48، بعدما منح مشاريع التفاوض والرهانات الفصائليّة المتقابلة أكثر من عقدين خسر خلالهما الفلسطينيون مزيداً من الأرض واختلّ خلالهما ميزان السكان أكثر لصالح مزيد من الاستيطان، ومع هذا الجيل وخلفه تقف قوى صاعدة في الفصائل، وخصوصاً في قوى المقاومة، أعادت ترتيب أوراقها على قاعدة بناء قدرات الردع، وحسمت هويتها ضمن محور المقاومة، واستثمرت على انتصاراته في الإقليم، واعادت تصويب البوصلة بعيداً عن لعبة المصالح الفئوية والسلطوية المحلية.
– الصدام يبدو حتمياً، بين المسارين الحاكمين لمستقبل حركة الكيان ومستوطنيه، وحركة الشعب الفلسطيني والقوى الصاعدة فيه، ومأزق الأميركيين يأتي من كونهم لم يستوعبوا حجم التغيير الجاري على الضفتين، فهم لا زالوا ينظرون للقضية الفلسطينية بعين اللحظة التي سبقت زمن دونالد ترامب وبنيامين نتنياهو، عشية نهاية ولاية الرئيس الأميركي الأسبق بيل كلينتون ورئيس حكومة الكيان السابق ايهودا باراك والزعيم الفلسطيني الراحل ياسر عرفات، وفشل مفاوضات عام 2000 في كامب ديفيد، ويتحدّثون عن حل الدولتين كإطار عاجز عن الإجابة على قضية الاستيطان في الضفة، وعاجز عن الإجابة عن تساؤلات أبناء مناطق الـ48 وعاجز عن الإجابة على الأسئلة التي يطرحها مصير القدس، وسقف ما يسعى اليه الأميركيون هو تهدئة للتهدئة، أو تفاوض للتفاوض، لأن المطلوب نزع فتيل التصعيد الذي يخشاه الأميركيون كمدخل لحرب إقليمية تهدّد بها قوى محور المقاومة، دفاعاً عن القدس، كما يخشون قيام كيان الاحتلال بتوريطهم بحرب إقليمية لنسف مفاوضاتهم الهادفة للعودة الى الاتفاق النووي مع إيران، كما هو تماماً حالهم مع نتنياهو.
– الفراغ الاستراتيجي قائم بنظر الفلسطينيين، فالأميركيون لم ينجحوا بترميم ما فقدوه خلال عقدين من حضور ونفوذ ومقدرات في المنطقة، وصعود محور المقاومة فرصة يجب الاستثمار عليها، ومنازلة القدس التي تبدو اليوم حدثاً متوقعاً، لا يمكن أن تنتهي بلا غالب ولا مغلوب، كما حاول نتنياهو تصوير نهاية معركة سيف القدس، بينما يعلم الجميع أن وقف المعركة دون توقف الصواريخ الفلسطينية التي أمطرت مدن الكيان، وفشلت القبة الحديدية بصدّها، ودون حرب بريّة ردعها وجود صواريخ الكورنيت التي ظهرت في الأيام الأولى للمعركة، قد تمّ بطلب نتنياهو تسليماً بالفشل، بعد رفضه لطلبات أميركية وأوروبية متكررة لوقف النار، وهذا الفراغ الإستراتيجي قائم بنظر قادة المستوطنين، الذين يريدون فرض اختبار الخيارات على الحكومة الجديدة التي يترأسها أحد رموز الاستيطان نفتالي بينيت، واستثمار حاجة نتنياهو لإحراج الحكومة وإذلالها في الميدان وتظهير خضوعها لواشنطن، واستعراض القوة بوجهها، ما يجعل مشهد التصعيد الاحتمال الأشد قوة لما سيحدث اليوم.
– الدعوة لمسيرة الأعلام الصهيونية في القدس اليوم ومقابلها الدعوة للنفير الوطني الفلسطيني لنصرة القدس، يضع القدس في واجهة الأحداث العالمية، ولم يغب عن بيان الدعوة للنفير الوطني الذي أصدرته لجنة المتابعة الوطنية للفلسطينيين في الأراضي المحتلة عام 48، دعوة قوى المقاومة في غزة ولبنان للاستنفار تحسباً لمسار الأمور، ما يجعل الأمور مفتوحة على كل الاحتمالات، والباب الوحيد لنجاح محاولات منع التصعيد هو منع المستوطنين من الاقتراب من الأحياء العربية في القدس ومن المسجد الأقصى، وإن حدث ذلك تحقق انتصار كبير بفرض قواعد اشتباك تجعل القدس خطاً أحمر غير قابل للانتهاك، وإن لم يحدث فالمواجهة ستتسع وتكبر ولا أحد يستطيع رسم سقوف مسبقة لها.
Editorial Comment from The Saker Blog for updated information only: Since this interview took place, and just this past weekend, there are changes in the Israeli government. Despite these changes, the comments from senior Lebanese political analyst Nasser Qandil hold true to the situation in the main, and the change in the Israeli government does not negate Mr. Qandil’s commentary. In short, these changes are: Right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett has been sworn in as prime minister, leading a coalition “government of change” that was approved with a razor-thin one-vote majority and in a power-sharing deal with the centrist Yesh Atid under the leadership of Yair Lapid. Mr. Netanyahu will remain head of the right-wing Likud party and will become the leader of the opposition.
Description:
In a recent appearance on a political talk show, senior Lebanese political analyst Nasser Qandil said that Israel is currently going through a sensitive and dangerous period of its history, in which it must choose between “civil war or regional war”.
Source: Al Mayadeen TV
Date: June 8, 2021
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Transcript:
Nasser Qandil, Editor-in-chief of the Lebanese newspaper Al-Binaa:
I personally do not believe that Netanyahu is capable of taking any major action at this stage. The main test (of Israel’s power) was the (recent) Sword of al-Quds (battle). I mean, we would not have never seen a ceasefire if the steadfastness of the (Israeli) occupation entity – in terms of its army, institutions, and society – was strong enough during the battle to bear the burden and the weight of Netanyahu’s decisions.
We have to look back at the image of what happened before the ceasefire: the missiles raining down on the cities of the (Israeli) occupation entity. This has never happened before in the history (of the Israeli entity). They were heavy missiles with explosive heads capable of bringing down buildings. Now you have this new scene. The missile fire (on Israel) continued, and (Israel) could not stop it. Before the ceasefire, (Palestinian resistance forces) had no land access (to outside world), no air force, nor an Iron Dome. Therefore, (Israel) accepting a cease-fire is its acceptance of helplessness, it is a request for US protection.
I believe, according to my personal assessment and readings, that with the ceasefire and its aftermath, since that day, the era of the independence of the (Israeli) occupation entity has ended. The (Israeli) occupation entity has fallen under an American mandate. Even in terms of (forming) the new (Israeli) government, how was this government born? Its (forming) was not even on the table. The government was suddenly born. The US today goes into details. Since (the US) holds the future of the (Israeli) entity in its hands, (it follows this policy:) “I protect you and I fund your (government), therefore, I control your politics.”
Host:
Forgive me for interrupting, but what I meant by the ‘developments on the ground’ is that today Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme right are talking with insistence about holding, for example, the Flag March on its original date. This may call for action at the grass-roots level. Therefore, the (Palestinian) resistance may take action. We are not confirming anything; we are (just) studying scenarios. However, due to these developments on the ground, the situation might deteriorate.
Qandil:
Let us first rule out the military scenarios, meaning sabotage, security operations, military action, targeting (individuals and locations) and igniting a war. This is beyond (the Israeli entity’s) power because it lacks internal harmony; an entity in which the US is a partner, whether at the intelligence level, or in terms of the Chief of Staff, or the Ministry of Defense. I mean, (the Israeli entity) cannot make its decision on its own.
Regarding the situation on the ground, well, the (original) date of the march was on Thursday, but now (the march) has been postponed to Tuesday by a decision from Netanyahu and his team to avoid taking any risks. (Next) Tuesday, they are talking about 500 (participants) and 500 flags. We know that this march is usually attended by at least 50,000 people every year. Therefore, Netanyahu and his team are now discussing ways to both deprive the (Palestinian) resistance from the opportunity to talk about its success in canceling the march altogether, and not crossing the red line drawn by the US.
Netanyahu explains the (current political) equation by saying: “you (Israelis) are going to either clash with Gaza, Hamas, and the (Palestinian) resistance forces, or experience Israeli bloodshed”, meaning that (Israeli) settlers and demonstrators will come out and clash with the police. I believe that Netanyahu’s assessment is correct. The future of the (Israeli) entity will look like one of two options: either a comprehensive war that begins with any action that would trigger conflict, or the other option, which is a Jewish-Jewish civil war because it is impossible to restrain the (Israeli) settlers.
It is possible that the march goes by with minimal provocations by avoiding sensitive areas and deploying the police and the army. However, since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin (former Prime Minister of Israel), the only vital force that has a meaningful political activity in the occupation entity is the (Israeli) settlers and extremists. The rest are empty structures. Thus, if they (settlers and extremists) took the initiative out of their certainty that the political establishment has become impotent, we will hear about confrontations and clashes every day.
On the one hand, protecting the (Israeli) entity will require that a part of the army, the police and security forces face the (Israeli extremists). On the other hand, if (Israel) lets (the extremists) loose, this will trigger regional wars. The (Israeli) entity today is going through a delicate, dangerous and sensitive period of its life as it faces a stark choice: either civil war, or regional war.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 