Tensions rise in Jerusalem following political assassination, protests

NOVANEWS
The simmering unrest in Jerusalem that started even before this summer’s war threatened to explode in recent weeks. Regular clashes escalated into a terror attack, a political assassination and the slaying of the suspects in both cases at the hands of Israeli police.The recent tensions have centered on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. Muslims believe Jewish extremists are attempting to alter the delicate arrangement in place since 1967, fears that haven’t been assuaged by a proposed law to do just that and increased restrictions on access for Muslim worshippers.

“Tensions on the Temple Mount lead to unrest in the streets of East Jerusalem, not the other way around,” writes Jerusalem-based archeologist and activist Yonathan Mizrachi.

   
Following the attempted assassination of right-wing Jewish activist Yehuda Glick last week, many have been conned into thinking about the conflict over the site as one of Jewish civil rights, a framing Larry Derfner describes as a fraud.

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been acting irresponsibly and could do much more to lower tensions, Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man writes, especially Abbas, who dangerously described Israeli restrictions on worshipers as a “declaration of war.”

And yet Israelis continue to talk about a united Jerusalem, even opposing the division of its East and West as part of a peace deal. Could Israeli perceptions be more disconnected from reality, Mairav Zonszein asks.

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