Saturday, September 19, 2015

19-Sep-15: Jerusalem Watch | Yet more rage

The rock-hurlers were out in force on Friday in the northern Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Shuafat [Image Source]
With the Sabbath just ended, here's a look back at a violent Friday.

Hamas, some of whose radical Islamist leadership sits in the far-off Gaza Strip, some in the even-further-away oil-rich Gulf states (glitzy Dubai, in particular), and some in Turkey, declared a day of "rage" in recognition of the many acts of wanton violence carried out in and around Jerusalem.

Hamas declarations of days of rage are hardly unusual: a quick search turns up these headlines: "Hamas calls 'Day of Rage' for Friday", July 28, 2015; "Police remain vigilant as Hamas calls for ‘Day of Rage’ on Friday", November 20, 2014; "Hamas call for 'day of rage' in West Bank Friday", August 1, 2014; "Day of rage: Hamas calls for terrorist attacks inside Israel", March 16, 2010

And as we said Thursday ["17-Sep-15: Rocks, rockets, riots, religion, risks"]
when Hamas and the Fatah leadership of the Palestinian Authority again threaten to deliver more trouble, more violence, more "anger", it's worrying because we know they pay no price at all for this hold-me-back irresponsibility. And no Western media and very few Western political figures have ever shown an appetite to reign them in. There is a price, however, that has to be paid. And it's generally paid by Israelis. 
Anticipating trouble in the wake of Hamas's calculated incitement, the authorities here restricted access to the Temple Mount on Friday women and to men over the age of 40. Friday prayers on the Temple Mount were covered by some five thousand Israeli police and ended without serious incident. But here's a partial selection of what ensued later:
  • There were riots outside Jerusalem Old City's Damascus Gate on Friday involving hundreds of Palestinian Arabs. 
  • A firebomb attack in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of Jerusalem on members of the Border Guard resulted in three police officers being injured. [Ynet Friday] Times of Israel says there was gunfire in addition to the firebombs, as well as the use of burning tires and burning garbage dumpsters to block streets. It also notes that the clash was at about the same spot as the one where a Jerusalem man, Alexander Levlovitz, died when his car was pelted with rocks on Sunday night ["16-Sep-15: Jerusalem Watch | Not-so-new New Year violence"]
  • In Jerusalem's mixed (Arab/Jewish) Abu Tor neighbourhood, masked Arab youths hurled rocks at Border Guard officers during the afternoon.
  • Similar attacks were staged at the Qalandiya security checkpoint.
  • An open paint can was hurled at Jerusalem's light rail causing damage to the carriage but no injuries. [Ynet Friday] Such attacks, often more violent and causing serious damage, are especially galling to people living in Jerusalem who understand what a positive and welcome difference the Light Rail, which took about a decade to construct and has been operating for five years, has made to the day-to-day life and ease of movement for Jerusalemites in general, and to the area's Arabs in particular. That added-value is at the heart of why Light Rail carriages keep coming under thuggish Arab attack - at this point, on a daily basis.

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