Vol. 81/No. 30 August 14, 2017
Terror attacks on Jews blow to Palestinian struggle
The protests began after three Palestinian Israeli citizens killed two police officers July 14 in a terror attack near the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Israeli government responded by closing off all access to the religious complex — one of the three most important sites to followers of Islam.
The two slain police officers, Hael Sathawi, 30, and Kamil Shanan, 22, are Druze, an Arabic-speaking minority of more than 100,000 in Israel.
After the attack the Israeli government closed off the site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered metal detectors, railings and cameras installed.
Sami Abu Zhouri, a spokesperson for Hamas, the reactionary Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, hailed the terror attack in Jerusalem, calling it “a natural response to Israeli terrorism and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it was “a qualitative achievement in the resistance of the Palestinian people against the occupation.”
In a phone call with Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority that governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the attack, but demanded that Israeli authorities immediately reopen the mosque.
After two weeks of sizable protests, with thousands of Muslims praying in the streets near the mosque, Israeli authorities reopened access and took down fencing, metal detectors and surveillance cameras they had installed.
But the lack of a revolutionary leadership in the region capable of charting a working-class road forward remains.
This is shown in the refusal of any Palestinian leadership to recognize the right of Israel to exist and the policies and actions of the Israeli government. Tel Aviv treats Palestinians within its borders as second-class citizens and prevents Palestinians on the West Bank from winning a contiguous, viable homeland.
The killings are the latest in a wave of terror attacks on Jews that began in late 2015. From October 2015 to March 2016 there were 100 attacks on Jews a month, mostly by young Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to the Jerusalem Post, there were 21 “significant” attacks on Israelis in April and May this year.
At the same time, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces mostly while carrying out attacks on Jews. At least 60 of the Palestinians were killed during demonstrations against Israeli policies.
After seizing control of East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordanian rule in 1967, Israeli rulers gained control of the religious complex revered by both Jews and Muslims that includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Jews call the area the Temple Mount and Muslims the Noble Sanctuary
Hoping to prevent the compound from becoming a focal point for Palestinian protests, the Israeli government negotiated a compromise with Jordanian authorities. Under the deal, the Waqf, run by the Jordanian Ministry of Sacred Properties, manages the site and is responsible for arrangements and religious and civil affairs there. Jews can visit but are prohibited from praying on the Temple Mount. Israeli police are responsible for security.
Despite giving lip service to Palestinians having their own state, the Israeli government continues to expand settlements there that balkanize the West Bank, making establishment of a viable state increasingly difficult.
When Israeli officials first reopened the site, they refused to remove the metal detectors. Abbas, and others called for a boycott.
Tens of thousands of Muslims refused to enter the site, holding daily prayers and rallies in the surrounding streets and across the West Bank. Some of the actions were broken up by Israeli police firing tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades, killing at least three Palestinians.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned the restrictive measures at Al-Aqsa. The Jordanian government sought negotiations to put an end to the crisis.
After Netanyahu agreed to remove the metal detectors and cameras July 26, in the face of domestic and international pressure, thousands of Muslims celebrated at Al-Aqsa.
No Palestinian groups or officials condemned al-Abed’s attack on the Jewish family, because they all view the Israeli settlers as “targets.” No group has a perspective that can break the senseless cycle of terrorist attacks against Jews and murderous retaliation by Tel Aviv. And no one puts forward a course of action that could win Israeli workers to the side of Palestinians.
What needs to be said is: We demand an end to all terror attacks. We oppose any new settlements, but in a Palestinian state all those who are already here would be welcome to remain as equal members of our society if they choose to do so.
Sheikh Asaid Sathawi, a cousin of one of the slain officers, did issue a public statement that points to a way forward.
“I hope this conflict ends already,” he told the press after the attack. “Enough bloodshed already. This is an unnecessary war and an unnecessary killing. We seek to calm things down, to give each nation its country, to reach a peace agreement and to achieve quiet and a pleasant life for everyone.”
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