Monday, The Christian Science Monitor published a report under the title " Ramadan in Jerusalem : How Moments of Tranquility Were Lost," referring at the outset to "diplomats' tireless efforts to pressure the situation to calm down and avoid further outbreaks of violence between Israel and the Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan."

Continued police violence and repression have undermined the fragile, painstakingly negotiated peace — brokered by the United States, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority — that initially allowed tens of thousands to pray and celebrate their festivals freely during Ramadan, which this year coincides with the holy holiday of Easter. The Jews.

However, observers say the conflict has been less a failure of US-led diplomacy than a success for extremists and far-right agitators in fanning the flames of distrust in a decades-long unresolved conflict.

The report notes that "among the victims of the rapid deterioration of calm in Israel and the Palestinian territories was the brief harmony enjoyed by the followers of the three Abrahamic religions in Jerusalem and the rare energy of joy that Ramadan bestowed on Palestinian Muslims, especially in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa, which they consider a refuge," noting that "even On Friday, behind-the-scenes diplomacy failed to restore order and facilitate the removal of many of the 2,300 Israeli police in and around Al-Aqsa, where the focus of the Israeli government, rather than its military response, was to launch rockets that targeted it across the border.

The report attributes to Jordanian sources as saying, "The dialogue with the Israeli government has been practically closed, as the rhetoric of both Israeli Jews from the extreme right and the Islamic Hamas movement led to an escalation of tensions in the days leading up to the Passover holiday, which began last Wednesday night. Disputes began over i'tikaf."

The report also notes that, according to an agreement reached between Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan, it was agreed that the authorities would close the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex after the evening prayer, from 11:00 pm until 4:30 am for the first 20 days of Ramadan, with the permission to observe i'tikaf starting from The 20th day onwards. However, Hamas immediately jumped to the issue, calling on Muslims to defy this measure and practice i'tikaf and camp at Al-Aqsa every night of the holy month.

Officials believe it was an attempt by Hamas to incite a clash between the worshipers and the ruthless Israeli police, to prove that the path of negotiation and diplomacy pursued by the rival Palestinian Authority and Jordan is doomed to failure.

The report notes that during the first 10 nights of Ramadan, the agreed-upon plan to close the Al-Aqsa complex after the evening prayer succeeded.

But with Passover approaching, Hamas calls for a retreat in the compound escalated with the call of Israelis from the far right to sacrifice animals on the Temple Mount.” Israeli news reports said that in the run-up to Passover, Israeli police arrested the head of the “Return to the Mountain” group that calls for to the offerings, as well as the many Israelis who tried to bring animals to the holy site."

Mainstream rabbis rejected far-right calls to revive the ritual, however, and the arrests failed to assuage Palestinian fears, or weaken sharp messages from both far-right Christian Jewish groups and Hamas, which have dealt with Passover sacrifices on the Temple Mount on the Temple Mount. It is certain, and that is why dozens of Palestinian youths barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa on Tuesday evening after the evening prayer, armed with fireworks and stones, in what they believed was their duty to "defend" Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The report says, "When the authorities failed to persuade the youth to leave, the Israeli police broke down the doors, stormed the mosque, and fired stun grenades. The raid damaged several old doors, shattered stained glass windows, damaged offices, and burned mosque carpets, and ended up with more than 350 arrests, and Hamas paid "And Israel entered into an exchange of fire. Rockets were fired again from Gaza and from Lebanon, followed by more Israeli airstrikes. No casualties have been reported so far."