Mediators are hopeful of a truce during the holy month
of the Palestinian bazaars in the Old City of Jerusalem have been deserted for five months. Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, triggering the war in Gaza, tourism has collapsed and Israeli visitors have kept away. But the stall-owners are hoping for a revival during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting that starts around March 10th.
In 2021 clashes during Ramadan triggered rioting by Arab Israelis and a 12-day war in Gaza. Hamas, which has taken a beating in Gaza and whose leaders are in hiding, is hopeful that Palestinians elsewhere will join in the fight. It has called for a march to al-Aqsa on the first day of Ramadan. In the hope of keeping things that way, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected the demands of his far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to restrict the number of Israeli Muslims allowed to pray in al-Aqsa during Ramadan. Rarely does Mr Netanyahu defy his coalition partner, the leader of the Jewish Power party, without whom he has no parliamentary majority, but the security services were adamant that restrictions would be an unnecessary provocation.
There are also rewards for peace. Since the war began, Israel has barred entry to 130,000 Palestinians who worked in Israel—the principal source of income in the West Bank. Security officials, worried that mass unemployment could cause rioting, have pressed for their return. But Israeli politicians have refused to lift the ban. A relatively peaceful Ramadan would probably lead to a change in policy.), which controls the semi-autonomous parts of the West Bank, to do its part in keeping the peace.
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