We were optimistic that the world was on the verge of ending the COVID-19 pandemic after hearing about Israel's success in being the first country to lift the mandatory wearing of facemasks and that it had conducted the fastest per capita vaccination program in the world, reaching nearly 80% of its 9.3 million-strong population. However, bad news has begun to overshadow this achievement.
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The wave of violence began in Jerusalem after Lehava, a radical ultra-Orthodox organization, was angered by a spate of TikTok videos showing Palestinians assaulting members of their community, including an attack on two ultra-Orthodox boys on Jerusalem's light railway. Tensions have since escalated. Palestinians have clashed with police, accusing them of erecting barriers to stop them from congregating on the steps outside Damascus Gate to break their daytime fast. Violence on both sides must be condemned, especially by the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
However, instead of the Gaza Strip condemning the attacks on innocent Jewish civilians such as the woman out walking her dog who was brutally attacked by Palestinian thugs, we saw Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip firing dozens of rockets into Israel on April 24, drawing retaliatory airstrikes. Hamas wanted to exploit the incident in east Jerusalem and give recalcitrant groups in Gaza the green light to fire rockets at Israel. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' reaction has not been any better.
No one will criticize him for demonstrating the Palestinian's preiecved right to east Jerusalem, but he should have condemned the violence against the police, the Israeli court building, and the smashing of security cameras. Also, to set himself apart from Hamas, he should have condemned the dozens of rockets launched into Israel by Palestinian militants supported by Hamas, but he did not. We do not know how to interpret these inflammatory responses; is the aim to delay next month's 2021 Palestinian legislative election or is it to disrupt the visit of Israel IDF Chief of Staf Aviv Kohavi to Washington that will discuss the threat of Iran's nuclear program and its entrenchment throughout the region?
However, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion condemned the violent riots that have plagued the capital city in an interview with 103FM Radio. He condemned the demonstration by Lehava, which he said served only to fan the flames and escalate the situation. Likewise, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, condemned Lahava and called them "a bunch of extremists" who were making it difficult for police to quell the rioting and insisted that rioters on both sides be treated the same by the Israeli police.
Regarding the extremists' calls for arson and the murder of Arabs, she said, "All Jews have come out against the racist statements." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for "calm on all sides" after several nights of unrest in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. He said, "First of all we want to ensure that law and order are respected... now we demand compliance with the law and I call for calm on all sides."
Abbas wants to be treated like a president of an independent state, but he must act responsibly to be considered as such. In a leaked clip of the meeting of the Fatah Central Committee on April 19, Abbas cursed several countries using profanities that do not befit any respectable person, let alone a president. He cursed China, which donated 100,000 doses of Sinopharm's vaccine to Palestinians, he cursed the United States even though it has supported his failed government with millions of dollars and he cursed all Arab countries despite the billions of dollars spent in support of the Palestinians.
Leaders are measured by their actions especially in crisis situations, so can the reactions of Fatah or Hamas be seen as commendable? Can such leaders be trusted to be in charge of protecting East Jerusalem or their own people? This reminds us of what Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the United States, said in his interview on the Al-Arabiya channel in October 2020, "The cause of Palestine is just and its lawyers are losers."
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