Dr. Islam Mousa (Atalla)
A researcher in the Palestinian Planning Center – National Security Research Unit

The Zionist practices that have persisted against the Palestinians for several years still take various systematic forms and look as they precede unfulfilled Judaizational plans that only lack public announcement and confirmation, after many efforts exerted to rehabilitate the Islamic and Arab nations to accept such plans and policies. This applies on the Flag March Al-Quds witnessed, as it was like an announcement of an old plan that was fermenting to carry with it the ideology of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa's temporal and spatial division. This plan was disclosed by the "Al-Aqsa Association for Waqf and Culture" in October, 2013 under the title of "Laws and Means to Maintain Temple Mount as a Holy Place," prepared by activists from the Likud Party that call themselves "Jewish leaders."

This plan requires the determination of certain times and places for the entry of Muslims and Jews into Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, as well as requires the sharing of Al-Aqsa's spaces, hours, days and weeks between the Muslims and Jews. Thus, the Muslims are not allowed to enter Al-Masjid in the times allowed for the settlers to enter to perform their prayers and ceremonies so the Jews be later able to deduct some spaces and turn them into churches.

Occupation believes that time and conditions are suitable to twist the Arabs' religious arm and dominate the temporal extension of Al-Quds, according to several indications at different levels:

At the internal level of the city: the Israelis have arranged all suitable spatial conditions inside the city in favor of this plan. They isolated the city from what surrounds it and isolated the Jerusalemites from their civil, national and administrative institutes, and from any activity that maintains their interrelationship through imposing security and military control across the apartheid wall, borders, crossings, and electronic gates. Moreover, they continue to expel the Jerusalemites from their houses in cities using different ways, and follow to bring the Jewish settlers and replace them with the Arab Jerusalemites; Muslims and Christians. This indicates their intention to change the demographic reality of Al-Quds, which includes 86 neighborhoods that had 570.100 population in 2020, meaning that the Jews represent 61% of the total population and 39% of the Arabs (Muslims and Christians). Regarding the religious identity, in 2021, 257.000 Jews lived in Al-Quds

At the internal level of the Palestinians: there is a Palestinian conflict and a non-united public opinion and strategy in regard to the Israeli violations in Al-Quds, or the methodology of the Palestinian resistance. In real, they did nothing when they lost the Orient House, which represents them politically in the city, as well as when many Arab associations and institutes there were closed, like the Arab Child Home, Maps Center and Arab Studies Center, as well as when the suffering of the unemployed Palestinians and the traders in the Old City that lost their works increased. Those all are indicators to that the Palestinian movement towards those violations reached its peak. All they can do is to condemn and appeal. Thus, this can never deter the Israeli occupation.

At the international and regional level: there are crowding political issues that dominated the Middle East area ant the international world in the last decade, including political conflicts that led to international and regional line-ups, causing the Palestinian cause to lose its priority and become a superficial issue for the audience, as there will be nothing more important for the Arab citizens than their countries' issues. This path that dominated the past period allowed the Flag March to pass through Al-Quds without any Arab or Islamic reactions; and if there were any, they are shy gestures, while others approved the march's right to pass as it has been doing this for 30 years.

Whoever follows the Zionist methodology observes that it operates on the basis of creating a fait accompli in Al-Quds, as it forces the regional and international world to accept the developments that occur in the city. Al-Quds is the most critical issue in regard to the Israelis' struggle with the Palestinians and most of the international politicians and mediators between the Palestinians and the Israelis avoid to get deep into this issue's details or into its extremists' positions whether in terms of religion, nationality or identity. Moreover, the public opinion of both sides, especially the Palestinians, refuse to compromise on any idea that suggests the division of the city, as it is the geographical spot that flares the heart and connection to the land. And from here, the Flag March has acquired its increasing importance, become a source of tension since the Israeli court allowed the Flag March to pass through Al-Quds' neighborhoods, and appeared as a reason behind the 2021 Israeli war, as for several past years, this march has never been this important.