Extremist Israelis Rampage Through East Jerusalem’s Old City

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)

According to Haaretz, hundreds of extremist youths rampaged “through the Old City from the Western Wall towards the Muslim Quarter.”

They shouted inflammatory rhetoric, threatened homes and shops, threw rocks and smashed car windows – hooliganism unchallenged by Israeli security forces.

They stormed a shop near the Damascus Gate, attacked the owner, injured him, requiring hospitalization for his wounds.

Police arrived too late to matter, no arrests made, in stark contrast to how Palestinians are treated, brutalized for not being Jews, the world community largely silent about their ill-treatment, letting Israel know it’s unaccountable for its actions.

When investigations are announced, they’re whitewashed. Israeli physical abuse and vandalism routinely go unpunished.

When Palestinians hold peaceful demonstrations, police and/or soldiers target them with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, and other oppressive tactics.

Virtually every day, Palestinians are arrested and detained despite guilty of no crimes. Life in Occupied Palestine is hazardous to their health and well-being.

Harsh treatment persists daily. Old City Muslim Quarter resident Louis Zorba said “I told (police) that if it were Palestinians who were rioting, they would have sent for reinforcements, and probably shot tear gas and stun grenades.”

The Old City incident occurred on Sukkot eve, a Jewish Feast of the Ingathering and harvest time holiday, commemorated this year from October 4 – 11.

Separately on October 12, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian properties in the Old City, heading for the Al Aqsa mosque compound, heavily protected by security forces.

They threw rocks and chairs at Palestinian shopfronts along with other vandalism. During the Sukkot period, Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza, continuing until October 14.

During Passover, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and other Jewish holiday periods, closure is enforced on Occupied Palestine, restricting movement more severely than other times, notably increasing tensions around the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Israelis praying or observing other religious practices there violate a longstanding agreement between Israel and the Islamic Waqf endowment, administering the Al-Aqsa compound and mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

Police and other security forces protect Israeli interests only, Palestinians considered an enemy of the state, Arab citizens viewed as a fifth column threat.

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