Israeli police were gearing up for another possible day of mass Palestinian protests Friday, with officials saying that the points of friction may move from the Gaza border to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
May 18 marks the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, when increased religious observance and the closure of many businesses during daylight hours sometimes leads to heightened tensions and clashes with troops.
Several roads near the Old City were ordered closed to traffic on Fridays for the duration of the month of Ramadan to allow for easier access to the Temple Mount for Muslim worshipers.
Hamas on Thursday signaled it could resort to armed attacks against Israelis in response to this week’s violence, but many analysts see that as unlikely after Egypt intervened and convinced Hamas’s leaders to tone down the protests, leading to only small skirmishes over the last few days.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi announced that the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will remain open for the entire month of Ramadan, marking a rare concession for the beleaguered Strip.
However, Israeli officials are concerned that large protests could break out in the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the instigation of Palestinian factions, amid widespread anger over the Gaza deaths, and amid continuing protests against the US moving its embassy to Jerusalem last Monday.
Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers are expected to pray Friday on the Temple Mount, also known as the al-Aqsa compound, one of Islam’s holiest sites. The Mount is the holiest place in Judaism, as the site of the biblical temples.
In the West Bank, Palestinians have called for mass marches toward Israeli checkpoints following Friday prayers, though it was unclear whether crowds would show. On Tuesday, fears of large protests in the territory failed to materialize, with only a few hundred demonstrating at several flashpoints.
Kuwait, the only Arab nation with a current seat on the United Nations Security Council, circulated a draft resolution Thursday night on “providing international protection to the Palestinian people,” following recent violent clashes on the Gaza border in which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. Israel described the move as “cynicism” and “shameful.”
Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi circulated the draft which called for the establishment of an international force stationed on the Gaza border with Israel.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said on Tuesday he would begin negotiations to try to get the resolution adopted.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned the proposed resolution.
“The cynicism and attempts to distort reality have reached a new low,” he said in a statement. “Israel will continue to defend its sovereignty and the security of its citizens against the terror and murderous violence of Hamas.”
Israel expects the United States to veto the resolution as it did on Monday when it blocked the adoption of a UN statement that would have called for an independent probe into the situation along the Gaza border.
Danon stressed, “This shameful draft resolution is a proposal to support Hamas’s war crimes against Israel and the residents of Gaza who are being sent to die for the sake of preserving Hamas’s rule.”
US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday condemned Hamas provocation and said ally Israel had acted with restraint.
“No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has,” Haley told the council. “In fact the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained.”
To suggest that the violence had anything to do with the relocation of the US embassy was a smoke screen, she said.
“The Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy,” she said. “Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday,” she added.
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