Bab Hutta is a neighborhood in Jerusalem’s Old City, located just outside the gates of the Temple Mount (al-Haram al-Sharif), the world’s most controversial religious site.
Normally, the area is one of the most beautiful sites for Ramadan celebrations in the city, filled with strings of festive lights and lanterns that take about 30 volunteers several weeks to set up. This year, there are no decorations and the narrow passages in the Muslim Quarter are quiet. About half of the usually bustling souvenir shops and restaurants were closed; on some streets there were more Israeli border police than civilians.
The holy month of fasting and feasting is expected to begin on March 10, but with war raging in Gaza and tensions reaching boiling point in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, Palestinians have little to celebrate .
“It’s hard to fast or eat when we think about the people in Gaza who are starving,” said Zeki al-Basti, 54, a resident of Bab Hutta. “There will be no Christmas celebrations and there will be no There are Easter celebrations and as long as the war continues… all we can do is pray.”
According to the local health ministry and the United Nations, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 30,000 people and displaced 85% of the population of 2.3 million. It is by far the worst violence in the entire Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The war broke out after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage, according to Israeli data.
Five months on, with a quarter of Gaza facing hunger, a comprehensive ceasefire is more important than ever, allowing sufficient aid to reach all parts of the besieged territory. The longer the war drags on, the greater the risk of an outbreak: Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen have already been drawn into the conflict.
Despite frequent claims from many parties that an armistice is imminent, Israel and Hamas still appear to be far from agreeing on terms. Just one week remains before the unofficial deadline for the start of Ramadan – a period during which violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often surges – is slowly ticking away.
Israel insists it will launch a ground offensive against Rafah, the last relatively safe place in Gaza during Ramadan if no deal is reached to release Israeli hostages, a move the international community warns will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and could become an escalation of violence across the region fuse.
Each year, the holy month of Ramadan brings Israel’s control of the Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif, into the spotlight as thousands of Muslim worshipers attempt to enter the Temple Mount to perform special prayers performed only during the month of Ramadan.
The site is administered by Jordan and under a long-standing compromise, Jews can visit but cannot pray there. Any attempt to change the status quo becomes a lightning rod for violence; clashes between worshipers and border police during Ramadan in 2021 sparked the final round of fighting in Gaza. Hamas said police raids on the compound’s al-Aqsa mosque in 2022 and 2023 were the main reason for the Oct. 7 attack.
Israel, which has ultimate control over access to the Temple Mount and often restricts it citing security concerns, has only allowed entry to Muslim men over 60 since the war began.
Last month, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir suggested to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s Muslim minority, which makes up around 18%, be banned from observing Ramadan. During this period, he entered the courtyard and caused an uproar.
He was later overruled by Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, but not before Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief in exile in Qatar, called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to celebrate the first day of Ramadan March to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Hamas’ primary goal right now is to set the Temple Mount on fire,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told reporters last week.
He added that the government was deploying additional security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank to respond to the threat.
Last year was already the bloodiest in the West Bank since the second uprising in the 2000s, even before the latest conflict broke out. Since then, at least 400 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territories in confrontations with Israeli settlers or clashes with soldiers, and military operations against Hamas and other militant groups have reached their highest level in 20 years.
On Monday, Israeli forces launched their largest attack in years on the Amr Ali refugee camp in the Palestinian administrative capital Ramallah, killing a 16-year-old child, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Attacks also took place in Jenin and Tulkarm, and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said at least 55 people had been arrested in the past 24 hours.
Israeli operations in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus and later in the western town of Tulkarem have become commonplace over the past two years. However, attacks on Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, remain relatively rare, and Monday’s action was widely seen as a worrying sign that violence could spread.
Alaa, 32, owns a grocery store near the checkpoint into the Western Wall.
“The pain and hunger being endured by families in Gaza is unbearable and we fear there is worse to come.”
