By: Zahid Jadwat

Palestinians have had to put up with the heavy hands of Israeli occupation forces once against, in fresh clashes at the Damascus Gate (Bab-Al-Amud), Jerusalem, at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

As congregants left Masjid-Al-Aqsa Sunday night, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured 19 Palestinians. They also arrested ten others. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) said the Palestinians crossing the popular thoroughfares of Bab al-Amoud, Bab as-Sahera, and Sultan Suleiman Street were hindered by roadblocks.

Officers then fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, and gas bombs, even towards women and children.

Speaking to Radio Islam, researcher Ebrahim Moosa said that despite the tension, Israeli forces may be hesitant to enter into a “full-blown” confrontation, as they are “still licking the wounds from last year’s encounter”.

Moosa said: “We’ve seen all these warnings before Ramadan from the Israeli side. The government seems not to be too keen to go into a full-blown confrontation – not because they wouldn’t want to do that, but obviously, the government is on shaky ground at the moment and still licking the wounds from last year’s encounter with the resistance.

“Israeli officers [have] now upped their level of force used on Palestinians, particularly at the flashpoint Bab-Al-Amud area. It’s a popular Palestinian thoroughfare and it’s a social gathering point [so] naturally the presence of Israeli soldiers infames the tensions of people who are just going about,” he said.

Just a few days prior to Ramadan, Jordan’s King Abdullah met Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz and called on Israel to respect Muslim rights at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

A statement by the Royal Palace said that the king “stressed that maintaining the comprehensive calm requires respecting the right of Muslims to perform their religious rites in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

Gantz discussed “the measures that Israel is planning to take in order to enable freedom of prayer in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria”, an Israeli statement said, using Biblical names referring to the West Bank.

“I fail to see how those [talks] could make any meaningful impact when the Israelis still seem to be quite keen to go ahead with incursions into Masjid-Al-Aqsa come the next week or two,” Moosa said.

Listen to the full interview here: