"Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation," chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy.
Over the past several months, Israel has been building Israeli-only settlements in East Jerusalem and bulldozing Palestinian homes, setting the stage for tensions.
More recently, there have been clashes at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. Israeli police scuffled with Palestinian protesters over attempts by Jewish religious activists to enter the site. Riots erupted when a group tried to enter the compound. Palestinian rioters pelted them with stones. Israel maintains they were tourists. Thirty people were injured. On Sunday, at least five Palestinians and four Israeli police were injured in clashes, again after police limited access to the mosque.
Protests spread to checkpoints in the West Bank. At the infamous Qalandia, the main crossing between the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers.
Yesterday and today, there were further clashes. Yesterday, it should be noted, tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers attended a blessing ceremony at the Western Wall for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot without major incident.
Palestinians pledged to defend the Haram Al-Sharif.
Protesters fear Jewish fundamentalists will agitate against them to set up the entree point for Israel to extend its already controversial political control into an assertion of Jewish religious presence there.
Rumors that Jewish fundamentalists, who believe a Jewish holy site lies beneath the compound, are going to march on it and damage it have fueled further unrest. There is a march as part of activities marking the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a police spokesman said.
The Palestinian Authority vowed to "confront" Israel over its plans to "take over Jerusalem and Judaize it."
Israel has been mobilizing police reinforcements to quell the protests. Palestinian observers fear that an Israeli "heavy-handed" response, instead of a de-escalation will be used to spark a stronger Palestinian outburst, which Israel will then use to further repress Palestinian the few remaining freedoms and rights. Israel will have 20,000 police along with the estimated 70,000 marchers.
In 2000, Ariel Sharon entered the site with a legion of police, a provocative move that ignited another Palestinian uprising. That was also followed by further Israeli land-grabs, including under the guise of the apartheid wall, which snakes inside of the West Bank near the green line. The presence of Israeli police brings back bad memories for many Palestinians.
The key will be whether the police abet or prevent any possible agitation by Jewish fundamentalists. Frequently, Israeli soldiers protect Israeli settlers as they abuse Palestinians.
The United States and Jordan are trying to ease the tensions surrounding the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, with Jordan asking Israel to prevent the entry of Jews and tourists to the site until the situation calms down, according to Haaretz.
