Something extraordinary took place tonight. On the holiest night in Islam, Palestinians in their hundreds upon thousands decided enough is enough. From all corners of West Bank they marched onto Jerusalem. In a single revolutionary, instantaneous act of solidarity with their brethren in Gaza, they stepped out, hollering, sloganeering, singing -- in a long march to the third holiest place in Islam. Israel, clearly taken aback, resorted to violence and fired live ammunition on unarmed protesters, killing two, grievously injuring scores. As if on cue, Palestinian social media commentators began to call it the (Laylat) Al Qadr Intifada. Israeli journalists in the online ecosystem, strung by the pace of the night’s events, too started portending the Third Intifada. Palestinians, when not allowed to enter the holy precincts of Al-Aqsa mosque, did the most beautiful thing possible. They stood in long queues in the alleys and by lanes of Jerusalem while Israelis kept firing tear gas canisters and bullets. In the smoke and din, they began praying. A boy clad in jeans stepped ahead in one alley, an elderly man in dish-dash in another, to lead the prayers. Mellifluously reciting chapters of the Holy Quran on a night the Book was revealed. As the night wore on, the air of Jerusalem, was rent with sublime prayer from all sides. This has not happened in more than a decade. Israeli propaganda that West Bank folk wont line up for Gaza was stripped bare. The settlers, reports suggest, were agitated and felt vulnerable. Israel’s policy of pitting one side against another came undone. Where there is unity, there is victory. (Pic: Courtesy tweeple)
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 23:40:11 +0000
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