‘Just the 1st round’: Palestinians in East Jerusalem emboldened by protests

– Coordinating global efforts to put forward “peace-promoting measures that entail joint participation at an early date”. The four-party consultative unit is part of the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity”, a vision then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi laid out in July 2006 to help the Palestinian Authority’s economy. At the crux of it: Two states and a total freeze on settlement construction.

Thousands of people rallied in Turkey’s largest city on Sunday against security measures Israel has imposed at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, shortly after Israel removed other measures that led to two weeks of violent Palestinian protests.

Muhammad Mahmoud, a lawyer for prisoners rights group Addameer, told Ma’an that Israeli forces detained 18 Palestinians during predawn raids in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Tur alone.

Israeli police on Monday arrested 33 Palestinians on suspicion of violently protesting, and state prosecutors filed indictments against an additional five suspects for alleged incitement to violence.

“We must act more consciously to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestine …”

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since 2014. In response, Netanyahu hastily ordered installation of metal detectors at the gates of the Mount used by Muslim worshipers.

Amid political infighting and a national movement divided between Gaza and the West Bank, al-Aqsa is a powerful unifying symbol for Palestinians – above all for Jerusalemites, who are politically leaderless.

Palestinian Muslim worshipers pray outside the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds overlooking the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on July 28, 2017.

The Israeli government installed metal detectors at the entrance to Jerusalem’s most sensitive religious site after three Arab-Israelis shot and killed two Israeli police officers on July 14 at the site.

The biggest mistake Israel has made with regard to Jordan is the “insurance policy” it has given to the Hashemite Kingdom for the past 23 years under the baseless assumption that Jordan can deliver on its part.

Dozens of participants expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people and their support for the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Both the Israeli and the Turkish governments say they will maintain their positions whatever the cost, but we should wait and see the results of the OIC meeting in Istanbul.

Palestinians on Saturday took to the streets and rushed into Al-Aqsa to celebrate the removal of detectors. All of these areas would be well within the range of Palestinian missiles, mortar shells, field intelligence and more.

For billions of worshippers across the globe – whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim – Jerusalem is a sacred and holy space. But the Israelis’ willingness to fly the flag suggests they view it not as an anti-Israel or terrorist symbol, but the colors of a political entity with which they must and do cooperate at various levels – militarily, diplomatically, economically.