Ramallah: Residents of occupied east Jerusalem have adopted Gaza as an example to resist Israeli forces in their quest to bring an end to the occupation.
“What happened in Gaza is an inspiration for Jerusalemites to achieve freedom and end the occupation,” Fakhri Abu Diab, a political activist and member of the Committee in Defence of Jerusalem Lands, said.
A new slogan, ‘those who seek the liberty of the holy land in Jerusalem must follow Gaza’s example’ seeks to motivate residents of occupied Jerusalem to act, Abu Diab said.
“In a short time, Gazans have asserted their legitimate rights and that was a key motif for the Jerusalemites,” he said. “Gaza steadfastness has significantly increased violence as Jerusalemites ascertained that their only way to end occupation was resistance.”
Occupied east Jerusalem has witnessed a significant rise in violence. Clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces have continued even after the recent Gaza war.
Abu Diab said the conditions in occupied east Jerusalem differ from those in the West Bank. “The occupation strictly controls all aspects of life here,” he said. “As long as the occupation lasts and its provocations continue, clashes will continue and violence will significantly increase.”
He added that the way Israel handles the Al Aqsa compound adds fuel to the fires of hatred.
Abu Diab said that since Ramadan this year, occupied east Jerusalem has not had a single calm night with 1,172 residents arrested and others being taken in for questioning.
Abu Diab said that in occupied Jerusalem, friction with Israeli forces is direct with no local Palestinian authority in the middle as in the West Bank.
Dr Abdul Sattar Qasim, who heads the political science department at Al Najah National University in Nablus, said the fact that Al Aqsa Holy Compound is located in occupied Jerusalem makes it the most sensitive spot in the conflict. “Incidents which happened in occupied Jerusalem have more weight than those in other parts of Palestine. Occupied Jerusalem incidents can and have proven to be the sparks which initiate violence in the Occupied Territories,” he told Gulf News.
Dr Qasim blamed the daily contact with the Israeli occupation for a steady increase in violence in occupied east Jerusalem.
“Had West Bankers been in daily and direct contact with the Israeli occupation and had not the Palestinian National Authority been there, there would have been no calm at all in the West Bank,” he said.
