Israel was beefing up forces and security measures in Jerusalem Sunday ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as the war in Gaza cast a somber mood on normally festive preparations by Muslims and ratcheted up fears of violence amid already sky-high tensions.
Thousands of police have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshipers are expected every day at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam.
The sacred Ramadan month, which sees those observing abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset, marks a period of religious reflection, family get-togethers and giving across the Muslim world. Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia saw the crescent moon Sunday night, meaning Monday is the first day of the fast in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as much of the rest of the Muslim world, though others, like Jordan, will begin the holy month Tuesday.
Israeli security officials fear that Muslim anger over the Gaza war could rise to a crescendo during Ramadan, fueling unrest, especially if Israeli authorities attempt to limit access to the Haram al-Sharif holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Saudi King Salman specifically pointed to the Israel-Hamas war in remarks released to the public after his country’s Ramadan announcement.
“As it pains us that the month of Ramadan falls this year, in light of the attacks our brothers in Palestine are suffering from, we stress the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, to stop these brutal crimes, and provide safe humanitarian and relief corridors,” the king said.
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz issued a direct appeal on Sunday evening to Muslim citizens of Israel, declaring that its war in Gaza is “not against Islam.”
“These days, the State of Israel is in a difficult campaign that began with a murderous attack by Hamas terrorists on all Israeli citizens, including Muslims,” Gantz said in a pre-recorded message. “Our war is not against Islam — but against those who harmed the values of Islam. Against those who committed crimes against humanity, and also sought to tear apart Israeli society and our common future.”
Declaring that Hamas wants to see Ramadan turn from a month of prayer to “a month of blood,” Gantz asserted that the Gaza-based terror group “doesn’t represent the absolute majority of Israel’s Arab citizens.”
The minister said that October 7 proved that “Arab society is an integral part of the State of Israel. When we are in danger, we are all in the same danger and face it together.”
He added a pledge to maintain freedom of worship on the Temple Mount and called on Israeli Muslims to ignore “the extremists who try to incite and harm us.”
Police said earlier Sunday that terror groups were attempting to stir up unrest in the capital around Ramadan by spreading “false information regarding the reality in Jerusalem, the Old City and in particular the Temple Mount.”
A statement said that 20 East Jerusalem residents had been arrested on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism over the past two weeks.
In the past, rumors of Israeli attempts to change the sensitive status quo at the Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, have threatened to upend any semblance of calm in Jerusalem.
“The Israel Police will continue to act and allow for the observance of Ramadan prayers safely on the Temple Mount, while maintaining security and safety in the area,” police said in a statement.
Despite a push last month from far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to restrict worshippers at the holy site, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the numbers admitted to the compound this year would be similar to last year, pending a weekly assessment.
“This is our mosque and we must take care of it,” said Azzam Al-Khatib, director-general of the Jerusalem Waqf, the religious foundation that oversees Al-Aqsa. “We must protect the presence of Muslims at this mosque, who should be able to enter in big numbers peacefully and safely.”
In the West Bank, which has seen major violence for more than two years and a further surge since the war in Gaza, the stakes are also high, with Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and other volatile towns braced for further clashes.
Nonetheless, there were no announcements of major troop deployments from the Israel Defense Forces.
In Jerusalem, in contrast to previous years, the usual decorations around the Old City have not been put up, and there was a similar somber tone felt in towns across the West Bank ahead of the start of the holy month.
“We decided this year that the Old City of Jerusalem won’t be decorated out of respect for the blood of our children and the elders and the martyrs,” said Ammar Sider, a community leader in the Old City.
In the ruins of Gaza itself, where half the 2.3 million population is squeezed into the southern city of Rafah, many living under plastic tents and facing a severe shortage of food, the mood was correspondingly bitter.
“We made no preparations to welcome Ramadan because we have been fasting for five months now,” said Maha, a mother of five, who would normally have filled her home with decorations and stocked her refrigerator with supplies for the evening Iftar celebrations when people break their fast.
“There is no food, we only have some canned food and rice, most of the food items are being sold for imaginary high prices,” she said via a chat app from Rafah, where she is sheltering with her family.
For many of those waiting, there is little alternative but to hope for peace.
“Ramadan is a blessed month despite the fact this year is not like every year, but we are steadfast and patient, and we will welcome the month of Ramadan as usual, with decorations, songs, with prayers, fasting,” said Nehad El-Jed, who was displaced with her family in Gaza.
“Next Ramadan, we wish for Gaza to come back, hopefully all the destruction and the siege in Gaza will change, and all will come back in a better condition.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
