'Night Of Rage' In Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, Palestinians and Jews see a night of rage, hate

AARON BOXERMAN

The protests were some of the most violent in years, with dozens of Palestinians and cops injured, random attacks on Jews and Palestinians across the city, and mayhem in downtown

Thursday night may have been one of the darkest Israel’s ethnically divided capital, Jerusalem, has seen in a long time.

Hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police close to Damascus Gate of the Old City over what they deemed unfair restrictions during Ramadan; 21 were rushed to an East Jerusalem hospital for treatment, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

After midnight, hundreds of far-right Jewish activists, many affiliated with the Jewish supremacist Lehava movement, marched to the Damascus Gate, calling out “Death to Arabs.”

Jewish extremists allegedly attacked a home in the Old City, seeking to set it on fire. In a video distributed on social media, Arab men can be seen beating a Jewish driver in Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighborhood before setting his car ablaze.

The surge in violence began last week, on the first night of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It was apparently sparked by a decision by Jerusalem police to prevent Palestinians from sitting on the steps of the Damascus Gate. In an unofficial — but tremendously resonant — Jerusalem tradition, thousands of Palestinians often sit in the area following nighttime prayers during Ramadan.

A spokesperson for Jerusalem Police told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the policy had been intended as a form of riot control.

“There are always riots. Now, they’re just using the barriers as an excuse. So if there weren’t barriers, what would we have then?” Jerusalem Police spokesperson Shimon Cohen said on Monday.

But whatever one thinks of the idea, it appears to have backfired. Every night of Ramadan so far has seen intense clashes between Palestinians and police close to Damascus Gate, with dozens injured.

Jerusalem has also seen a series of viral videos on the social network TikTok, which appeared to show Palestinians attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews without any provocation. It is unclear whether the attacks were related to anger over the Damascus Gate restrictions or not, but the videos fueled a growing atmosphere of anger.

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