Fatah, Hamas use Jerusalem unrest to deflect attention from own problems
The Palestinian factions are already competing for the title of the best “defenders of Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque” against alleged Israeli efforts to “Judaize” the city.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHFatah and Hamas officials wait for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and representatives of Palestinian groups and movements as a part of an intra-Palestinian talks in Moscow, Russia February 12, 2019(photo credit: PAVEL GOLOVKIN/POOL VIA REUTERS)
The Palestinian factions have succeeded in their effort to turn the dispute over the inclusion of Jerusalem in the upcoming Palestinian elections into a major theme of their electoral campaigns, which are set to begin this Friday.They are already competing for the title of the best “defenders of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque” against alleged Israeli efforts to “Judaize” the city and alter the historical and legal status of the holy site.The factions, specifically Fatah and Hamas, are also seeking to use the issue of Jerusalem as a distraction from the internal problems and challenges they are increasingly facing on the eve of the elections.Israeli authorities, on the other hand, evidently underestimated the calls made by the factions and their leaders over the past few weeks to turn Jerusalem into a battlefield for “constant clashes” with the Israeli security forces and “settlers.”The calls, mostly from Fatah and Hamas leaders, came in the context of a concerted Palestinian campaign to exert pressure on Israel to allow the elections to take place in Jerusalem. Israel has yet to spell out its position on the participation of Jerusalem Arabs in the vote.The latest violence began on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when activists believed to be affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction attacked policemen stationed near the Old City of Jerusalem with fireworks, rocks and petrol bombs. Several Jewish passersby were also targeted.The activists said they were protesting tough Israeli security measures, including a ban on gatherings of dozens of youths at the Damascus Gate stairways.But it was obvious from day one that the clashes were part of the campaign to pressure Israel to allow the elections to take place in Jerusalem.AS THE CLASHES became a daily phenomenon, some residents of east Jerusalem accused the activists of disrupting the Ramadan celebrations and prayers, which normally take place after the iftar meal breaking the fast each evening.The residents complained that the clashes between the activists and the police have forced many of them to avoid praying at al-Aqsa Mosque or enjoy the festivities of Ramadan night.
The demonstration organized this past Thursday by far-right Jewish activists outside the Old City was used by the Fatah leadership as an excuse to escalate the violence. It was portrayed by the Fatah leadership as part of an attempt to “storm” al-Aqsa Mosque and the homes of east Jerusalem residents.Fatah leaders and activists called on east Jerusalem residents to take to the streets to defend their homes and the mosque against Jewish “settlers.”The goal: to show that Fatah cares about Jerusalem and will not allow Israel to impose its own dictates on the Palestinians, especially regarding the inclusion of Jerusalem in the elections.The issue of Jerusalem is of significant importance to the PA and Fatah leaders, particularly in light of accusations that they have done almost nothing to assist the Arab residents or “thwart Israeli conspiracies” against the city and al-Aqsa Mosque.In the past two days, PA and Fatah officials have been seeking to capitalize on the violence by depicting it as part of the Palestinian leadership’s “battle” to defend Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections, slated for May 22 and July 31 respectively.“The battle that our great people are waging in Jerusalem is not an electoral battle to establish and exercise our legitimate democratic right inside the city, but rather a continuation of the battles that they are waging against the arbitrary measures practiced by the occupation against Muslim and Christian holy sites,” boasted Abbas Zaki, a prominent member of the Fatah Central Committee, the faction’s highest decision-making body.Zaki’s statement, directed to Palestinian voters, is seen as part of an attempt by the Fatah leadership to take credit for the violence on the streets of Jerusalem. Moreover, it is seen as part of an attempt by Fatah to divert attention away from its own problems.FATAH IS running in the parliamentary election under three separate lists: one dominated by Abbas loyalists; a second led by Nasser al-Kidwa (a nephew of former PLO leader Yasser Arafat) and Fadwa Barghouti (wife of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti); and a third belonging to exiled Fatah operative Mohammed Dahlan.The split is likely to have a negative impact on Fatah’s performance in next month’s elections and benefit its rivals in Hamas.Abbas’s list, on the other hand, wants the electoral campaign to focus on Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular, thereby eclipsing inconvenient issues such as financial and administrative corruption in the PA.The violence in Jerusalem may also serve as a good excuse for Abbas to postpone or even cancel the elections.Abbas is beginning to realize that he got himself into a precarious situation by calling new elections that are threatening to divide Fatah into several rival factions.He could now use the violence on the streets of Jerusalem to hold Israel responsible for obstructing the elections, especially if the clashes spread to the West Bank.Hamas and the Gaza-based factions, meanwhile, are also trying to cash in on the Jerusalem riots ahead of the elections. The rockets fired into Israeli territory over the weekend were aimed to show the Palestinian public that these factions are also involved in the “battle” against Israel in Jerusalem.WITH LESS than a month before the parliamentary election, Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip cannot afford a situation where Fatah appears to be standing alone in the fight over Jerusalem.Hamas has already turned the issue of Jerusalem into the major theme of its election campaign by naming its electoral slate “Jerusalem is Our Destiny.”In a clear message to Palestinian voters, Hamas officials said the violence in Jerusalem proves that the terror group’s strategy of “resistance” against Israel is the best way to “liberate” Jerusalem and prevent Israel from implementing its purported plan to “Judaize” the city.Hamas, in other words, is appealing to Palestinians to cast their ballots in favor of those who support the armed struggle against Israel, and not Abbas’s Fatah, which conducts security coordination with Israel and is ready to return to the negotiating table.Like Fatah, Hamas is also hoping to use the issue of Jerusalem as an excuse to divert attention away from its failed governance and policies.And like Fatah, Hamas wants the electoral campaign to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, specifically Jerusalem, and not on its failure to improve the conditions of its constituents in the Gaza Strip.But the rockets launched from the coastal enclave were also aimed at sending a warning to Abbas not to call off the elections. Some Hamas officials have warned that such a move would be tantamount to a “surrender to the Zionist enemy” and will solidify the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
