19-Sep-15: Jerusalem Watch | Yet more rage

The rock-hurlers were out in force on Friday in the northern Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Shuafat [Image Source]

With the Sabbath just ended, here's a look back at a violent Friday.

Hamas, some of whose radical Islamist leadership sits in the far-off Gaza Strip, some in the even-further-away oil-rich Gulf states (glitzy Dubai, in particular), and some in Turkey, declared a day of "rage" in recognition of the many acts of wanton violence carried out in and around Jerusalem.

Hamas declarations of days of rage are hardly unusual: a quick search turns up these headlines: "Hamas calls 'Day of Rage' for Friday", July 28, 2015; "Police remain vigilant as Hamas calls for ‘Day of Rage’ on Friday", November 20, 2014; "Hamas call for 'day of rage' in West Bank Friday", August 1, 2014; "Day of rage: Hamas calls for terrorist attacks inside Israel", March 16, 2010

And as we said Thursday ["17-Sep-15: Rocks, rockets, riots, religion, risks"]

when Hamas and the Fatah leadership of the Palestinian Authority again threaten to deliver more trouble, more violence, more "anger", it's worrying because we know they pay no price at all for this hold-me-back irresponsibility. And no Western media and very few Western political figures have ever shown an appetite to reign them in. There is a price, however, that has to be paid. And it's generally paid by Israelis. 

Anticipating trouble in the wake of Hamas's calculated incitement, the authorities here restricted access to the Temple Mount on Friday women and to men over the age of 40. Friday prayers on the Temple Mount were covered by some five thousand Israeli police and ended without serious incident. But here's a partial selection of what ensued later:

• There were riots outside Jerusalem Old City's Damascus Gate on Friday involving hundreds of Palestinian Arabs. 
• A firebomb attack in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of Jerusalem on members of the Border Guard resulted in three police officers being injured. [Ynet Friday] Times of Israel says there was gunfire in addition to the firebombs, as well as the use of burning tires and burning garbage dumpsters to block streets. It also notes that the clash was at about the same spot as the one where a Jerusalem man, Alexander Levlovitz, died when his car was pelted with rocks on Sunday night ["16-Sep-15: Jerusalem Watch | Not-so-new New Year violence"]
• In Jerusalem's mixed (Arab/Jewish) Abu Tor neighbourhood, masked Arab youths hurled rocks at Border Guard officers during the afternoon.
• Similar attacks were staged at the Qalandiya security checkpoint.
• An open paint can was hurled at Jerusalem's light rail causing damage to the carriage but no injuries. [Ynet Friday] Such attacks, often more violent and causing serious damage, are especially galling to people living in Jerusalem who understand what a positive and welcome difference the Light Rail, which took about a decade to construct and has been operating for five years, has made to the day-to-day life and ease of movement for Jerusalemites in general, and to the area's Arabs in particular. That added-value is at the heart of why Light Rail carriages keep coming under thuggish Arab attack - at this point, on a daily basis.

18-Sep-15: Jerusalem Watch | Ongoing violence

Jerusalem - Ras al-Amud last night: That's an Egged bus burning. The
driver escaped [Image Source]

In the Old City, the heightened state of alert continues to be in effect. In Ynet's words:

The turmoil in and around Al-Aqsa mosque in the past week, as well as intelligence indicating Arab youths intend to violently protest, led Jerusalem’s chief of police, Maj. Gen. Moshe Edri, to order the reinforcement... [via sending] a hefty contingent to the Temple Mount on Friday, in preparation for possible protests and riots after Muslim morning prayers conclude, as tensions in the city remain high... The entrance to the Temple Mount area on Friday will be restricted for Muslims to men over the age of 40 and women and girls of any age.  [Ynet today]

During Thursday evening in and around Jerusalem:

• A bus driver was injured in the city when rocks were hurled at the bus he was driving near the Hizma checkpoint. His injuries were treated by a paramedic team on the spot, and he was sent to Shaarei Zedek Medical Center for further care.
• A second bus incident: Haaretz says Palestinian Arabs "pelted the bus with stones as it was driving through East Jerusalem’s Ras al-Amud neighborhood. The driver fled, but when he returned to the spot later with the police, they found that the bus was on fire, apparently after having been torched." Haaretz might have mentioned, but did not, that the driver is himself an Arab, working for Egged, the bus co-operative that provides most of the bus service in the nation's capital.
• Firebombs (Molotov cocktails) were hurled from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.at an Israel Defense Forces base on the outskirts of Jerusalem. A guard tower was damaged. 

On Friday:

• Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, along with a number of other Palestinian groups, has called for a "day of rage" for Friday to coincide with weekly Muslim prayers after what they call an Israeli 'assault' on Muslim worshipers at the al-Aqsa mosque... [i24news, this morning]
• Also from i24news: "Israel meanwhile, has accused Turkey of being responsible for the recent violence, reported Israel's Channel 2 news. According to the report, which cited unnamed Israeli leaders, Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, who is currently living in Turkey, is responsible for organizing the violence from afar. The onus therefore, has fallen on the Turkish government for allowing al-Arouri to funnel large amounts of money to Hamas and their armed military wing from Turkey. Turkey has rejected the claims, saying that al-Arouri is no longer in Turkey."