The Good Friday Stations of the Cross for Christians ends in the Old City with the call to prayer for Muslims. This Friday, April 15, Jerusalem holds its breath. Nearly 3,000 police officers are mobilized as well as a surveillance helicopter after clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian rioters on the esplanade of the Al Aqsa Mosque. At least 150 people were injured in the early morning, according to the emergency services, during the first prayer of the day.
The violence at Islam’s third holiest site, coinciding with the start of Christian Easter and Jewish Passover celebrations this year, adds to weeks of tension in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Rami, an almond seller at Damascus Gate was shocked by the incidents of the night: “I arrived around four in the morning to pray at Al Aqsa and then I left for work. When I arrived at the neighborhood not far away, I heard the violence. Al Aqsa is a place to pray, the better it is. is that there is no violence there. People come from many places, from afar, they cannot be deprived of prayer.”
“Violence must stay away from Al Aqsa. We don’t want further violence in Gaza, Jenin or Tulkarem and there shouldn’t be any here either.”
Rami, Merchant of Jerusalemat franceinfo
They are 60,000 faithful on the esplanade, half of whom come from the occupied West Bank. Their prayer and then their exit went off without a hitch.
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In the narrow streets of the old city, the Israeli police are everywhere. At the exit from the old city, she keeps her distance from the Palestinian crowd, to the relief of Amir who is afraid that evening customers will not come to dine in his nearby cafe: “What happened today is very sad. Violence is ugly and it shouldn’t happen, it’s too bad! We want it to happen peacefully and calmly.”
“We have no interest in these fights because it will affect our work and deter customers. You see, there are no walkers around here.”
Amir, owner of a caféat franceinfo
Police say they did everything not to enter Al Aqsa Mosque and intervened after dozens of Palestinian rioters threw rocks at Jews praying at the Wailing Wall and fired rockets at them. firework after morning prayer. The green Hamas flag was waved, images flooded social media.
Malik, 21, hopes that the situation will not degenerate like a year ago even if he is overwhelmed: “People are all asking the same question. The situation is more complicated every day, life is more difficult, the Israelis are receiving threats from Gaza or Jenin, it is not easy and if it continues like this, the situation will be even worse and the war closer.Israeli soldiers and police keep harassing us, especially us young people.Just recently I was arrested and kept for a day.It was here near the gate from Damascus, they bother me and my friends.”
Israel’s prime minister has called an urgent meeting to take stock as his Islamist allies in parliament are very unhappy with the situation. The West Bank is locked down until midnight Sunday so that Jews can celebrate the first day of Passover. But a very fragile calm reigns in Jerusalem.