Worrying about today in Jerusalem. Anyone who has been to Hebron – for example on a CADFA visit to Palestine – knows the bad situation with the Ibrahimi Mosque closed off with Israeli army checkpoints and turnstiles and searches and metal detectors This is what the Israelis are trying to do to the Al Aqsa in Jerusalem – already it’s hard for Palestinians to get to the city with walls, checkpoints at the edge of the city and pass laws that only allow some in – but this will mean real difficulties both for people who live locally and West Bankers. Even if they manage to get Israeli permits and can get to Jerusalem,, only some will make it through the slow procedures before the time the Israelis say they must leave the city. Intolerable is leading to more intolerable, and the Palestinians are refusing.
Today, Friday prayers, and we hear.. “The Jerusalem police will be reinforced by thousands of special police forces. The army is also preparing for the possibility of confrontations in both the West Bank and Gaza. The army announced that five battalions will be on alert throughout Friday should they be required.”
Hope today is not another tragedy. Hoping for an early end to the completely unequal, unfair and intolerable situation.