in the midst of war between Israel and Hamas, a tense start to Ramadan in Jerusalem

The Gaza Strip, in the grip of a serious humanitarian crisis, remains under fire from the Israeli offensive against Hamas. The United States fears that the situation could become “very dangerous”, particularly in East Jerusalem, where the Esplanade des Mosques, the third holiest site in Islam, is located, if fighting continued during Ramadan.

The month of Ramadan which begins this Monday March 11 promises to be very tense in the Middle East. For weeks, negotiators had wanted to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza to avoid igniting the situation, in vain. From now on, one place concentrates all the attention: the Esplanade of Mosques or Temple Mount for the Jews, and the third holiest site of Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas twice called on Palestinian Muslims last week to “walk on Al-Aqsa” and the operation of October 7 was called “Al-Aqsa Flood”. The atmosphere is therefore particularly heavy in the old city of Jerusalem at the moment.

For several hours now, the first filters have been installed at the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. For a month, a thousand police officers are mobilized during the week, 2,500 at the weekend in an area of ​​less than one square kilometer. At the entrances to the Esplanade des Moquées or Temple Mount, the youngest men are blocked. Sorting is done by facies: “He is coming towards usa young Palestinian told franceinfo, pointing to an Israeli police officer. If I don’t leave, I’m going to have problems. Big problems…”

“We tried to enter through five different doors, it’s not possible. What can we do? We can just pray. Israel is much too strong”

A Palestinian

at franceinfo

“Access depends on the mood of Israeli police”

So, prayer is organized outside. Mohamed, in his thirties, sets up his mat in an alley. “It’s very important for us to come here to pray, but when they don’t let you in like right now, we don’t feel good, he confides. At this time, there are many people coming here from the northern occupied West Bank. But this year, they won’t be allowed in and they will be forced to pray outside. It will make them angry and they will experience it very badly.”

Only older people are authorized, for the moment, to access the Esplanade des mosques. Hadj Mohamed performs his ablutions and prepares for prayer. “I am 77 years oldhe says. At the moment, young people cannot enter here. Access depends on the mood of the Israeli police at the mosque gates. Some are still suspicious and provocative. They respect neither the young nor the old. At my age, there were times when they said to me: ‘Get out of here!'”

These restrictions and above all, the attitude of the police could therefore worsen an already flammable situation. For at least the first week of Ramadan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised not to tighten the rules.