By Khaled Abu Toameh, JPost—
Monday’s stabbing attack in Jerusalem shows that the situation in the city remains tense despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect four days ago. That’s because the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have an interest in keeping Jerusalem in the headlines, each for its own reasons.
The tensions, which began on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, are unlikely to abate quickly in the aftermath of the ceasefire.
The leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas stated in the past few days that the ceasefire does not mean that the “battle for Jerusalem” has ended.
They have even urged the Palestinians in the city to continue the “popular uprising” until Israel rescinds the court decision to evict a number of families from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and stops its “provocations” against the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The “provocations” refer mainly to visits by Jews to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount.
When the visits resumed on Sunday after a three-week lull due to the clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Police, the Palestinian leaders and factions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stepped up their condemnations of Israel.
As in the past, the leaders and factions portrayed the visits as “violent incursions by Jewish settlers and extremists” into the al-Aqsa Mosque. Continue Reading….
