“Ramadan Mubarak”, blessed Ramadan. At the same time that greetings of peace are multiplying among the Palestinians, the first deadline that the mediators had proposed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expires, who, on the contrary, continue to accuse each other of boycotting any understanding.
Although the talks continue in Cairo and both parties say they are willing to negotiate, the discussions remain stuck on the same points: Israel demands a list of the hostages who are still alive, something that the Islamist group claims to be unable to provide as some are in the hands of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and because the Israeli attacks have made it difficult to gather that information.
Hamas, for its part, is asking for guarantees that, if it accepts the initial proposal of a six-week truce, it will lead to a definitive ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of troops, unacceptable conditions for Netanyahu's government, determined to invade Rafah.
Precisely, without an agreement – which is also shaken by the disagreement over how many Palestinian prisoners and which would be released in exchange for Israeli hostages – the risks grow that Israel will carry out its feared invasion of the southernmost area of Gaza during this Muslim holy month, as War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz warned a few weeks ago.
More than 1.5 million Gazans are crowded into Rafah, the vast majority displaced multiple times from other areas of the strip due to Israeli attacks and refugees in precarious camps, without access to food, drinking water or basic services.
Several international organizations predict a “catastrophe” if Israel launches the offensive – which the Netanyahu administration says it can avoid with an opaque evacuation plan – while leaders such as the American Joe Biden urge the Jewish State not to cross that “red line.”
The fear of Washington, an ally that continues to provide weapons to Israel, and of regional actors such as Egypt, Qatar (both mediators) and Jordan is that the images of an Israeli assault in such a deeply felt time – and this year so dark – for the Muslim world stir other conflict hotspots, especially in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank or even in Lebanon.
Israel has been promoting the idea for weeks that this is precisely what Hamas is seeking, accusing it of acting “as if it were not interested in an agreement” and of striving “to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinians in Gaza.” .
There seems to be some reason in the message from Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Ezedin al Qasam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, who called for “a general mobilization” so that “the blessed month is an extension of our struggle and an escalation in the Operation Al Aqsa Flood (the name the Islamist group gave to the October 7 attacks in southern Israel), inside and outside Palestine.”
Hence, eyes are on Jerusalem and the faithful's access to the mosque, the third holiest place in Islam. “Muslims feel that Al Aqsa is safe when they see half a million Palestinians coming to pray every Friday. "If they see it empty, or people fighting trying to get in, perhaps injured or attacked by the Israeli police, then something could click," Samer Sinijlawi, president of the NGO Jerusalem Development Fund, told the British podcast Stories of ours. Times.
Knowing this, Netanyahu has ignored the extremist wing of his coalition (led by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir) and has promised that the entrance to the Esplanade of the Mosques (or Temple Mount, as the Jews, who consider it their holiest place) will be similar to previous years, subject to “security considerations.”
In principle, it would mean lifting the harsh restrictions imposed since October 7, which have caused that every Friday prayer only those over 60 years of age could enter Al Aqsa, while the youngest have been relegated to praying in the streets, with some arrests and police repression.
According to reports, during Ramadan, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and residents of East Jerusalem could enter without limitations, and for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, access would be granted to men over 60 years of age, women and children. Of course, for them, the first challenge is to get to Jerusalem, taking into account that Israel has taken the restriction of movement to the maximum and has imposed more blockades and inspections on the roads.
In this scenario of repression and fear, added to a collective sadness over the death of “their brothers” in Gaza, the Palestinians look forward to a Ramadan without any mood for celebration, as witnessed by the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, plagued by fences and police checkpoints, devoid of decorations and with a large number of closed businesses.
