There is no real reason for the recurring tension around the Nablus Gate, which has been fueling riots, stone-throwing, rocking of buses on their way to the Western Wall for several weeks, and so on.
One can look for excuses underground in an attempt to explain what is happening: the repeated tension on the Temple Mount, which this time ended in a Palestinian victory, after the court reversed a decision by a lower court to allow silent prayers on the Temple Mount;
A birthday celebration of one of the right-wing activists in the Nablus Gate plaza;
Exposing the skeletons of Muslim burials in the area during works by the Nature and Parks Authority, and even the Prophet Muhammad's birthday was mentioned as a "reason to party".
But the truth is, apparently, simpler than it seems: many of the rioters, young people in their 20s, are unemployed and / or dropping out of education systems in the east of the city, easy to incite and agitate - two regular guests on social networks, WhatsApp groups and various forums, not to mention On the mosques. When it comes to Jerusalem, this incitement is a mixture - each time in a different mix - between religion and nationalism. In the current round, it appears to be an attempt to bolster the protest, which died (relatively) with the end of Operation Wall Guard and its appendices, to align with Hamas threats to re-ignite the capital and continue the "Jerusalem Sword" events (during the Wall Guard).
The site chosen for this protest, the Nablus Gate (called in Arabic "Bab al-Amud"), has in recent years become a kind of East Jerusalem version of the Egyptian Tahrir Square. During the years of terrorist attacks and knives, terrorism repeatedly preferred to attack police officers and soldiers in the area of this gate (by shooting and with knives), until at some point it was even nicknamed the "Gate of the Martyrs" or the "Gate of Heroism". Pictures of the gate and the terrorists who were shot to death during the attempts and murders of Jews, still appear frequently on many Facebook pages, and on quite a few websites it is known as the "Holy Gate."
The recent incidents include not only the police and security forces who are detained, but not only Jews who pass by and travel on Egged lines to the Western Wall, who are stoned and Molotov cocktails, but also the Arab population who live near the site.
More than once, police found it difficult to separate the rioters from residents in the area.
The local shoppers and the handful of tourists who still somehow support the merchants in the area, stay away from it as the riots continue.
Perhaps the time has finally come to try and activate bodies and public figures in East Jerusalem, so that they can try to calm and restrain the demonstrators, with the understanding that the riots this time have no real reason, and also with the understanding that they hurt residents and merchants in the area.
Clergy can do that.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Waqf and other trade unions can also take on the task.
Disruptions affect both the Jewish and Arab sides.
