The violent clashes over the past few days between Palestinians and the Israeli police near the AlAqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are causing difficulties for the Israeli government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, which has been in a serious political crisis for several weeks. Due to recent tensions, an Arab faction has threatened to leave the coalition backing the already weak government that is now in danger of toppling.
The first clashes at AlAqsa Mosque the third holiest site in Islam after Medina and Mecca occurred on Friday when Israeli police entered the compound where many Palestinians were gathering for prayer, they claimed, in response to a stone being thrown and other items to intervene . Clashes continued on Sunday as police officers searched the complex to disperse Palestinian protesters who, according to their reconstructions, were about to arrive for Jewish visitors (who have the right to use the adjacent “Esplanade des Mosques” but are not allowed to go there). In all, at least 150 Palestinians were injured and more than 300 arrested in the clashes.
Tensions over the past few days have led the United Arab List (Ra’am) to decide to suspend its participation in the governing coalition, long contemplated and supported by a heterogeneous majority ranging from left to nationalist rightwing parties very fragile. Ra’am is the first independent Arab party to be part of an Israeli government, and with parliamentary sessions suspended until May 8, his decision will have no impact on the majority for now. However, if Ra’am confirms his decision to leave the coalition, the opposition will have a majority of 64 out of 120 seats and could easily bring about the fall of the government.
Already in early April, before Ra’am’s announcement, the stability of the government had been shattered by the decision of a key MP from Bennett’s own party, Idit Silman, to go into opposition: Silman, from the rightwing Israeli nationalist, had irreconcilable differences with the rest of the majority, culminating in a story about the foods that are allowed to be consumed in public hospitals during the Easter period. Now it seems quite difficult for Bennett’s coalition to win back the majority in the Knesset the Israeli parliament and at the same time there do not seem to be any figures to form an alternative coalition.
The government’s political crisis caused by Silman’s decision and the weekend’s clashes has been compounded by a new spate of terrorist attacks that have hit the country more frequently of late.
To complicate matters further, there is a rather significant coincidence in Jerusalem: For the first time since 1991, the days of the Christian Passover the socalled Easter Triduum are being celebrated within the same week as the Passover, which occurs that year…again, celebrated during of the holy month for Muslims, Ramadan.
This anniversary is remarkable and unique in the world for Jerusalem, a holy city for all three religions: Rabbi Barnea Selavan argues in an interview with the New York Times that the repetition of these three events symbolizes the many cultures of Jerusalem and that at this moment the city is one “Symphony of People Turning to God”. At the same time, however, the overlapping of religious holidays risks fueling the multiple conflicts that have persisted in the city for decades, as recent days’ clashes have shown.
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