The current conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began with tensions over the potential eviction of Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem, as well as clashes between Israeli police and protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Residents of Jerusalem told FRANCE 24’s team in the city about their fears amid the violence.
Moam, a Palestinian delivery driver, feels apprehension with every order since the violence between Israel and Hamas reignited.
“I sometimes have to deliver to ultra-Orthodox areas, where there are many extremists,” he told FRANCE 24. “I'm afraid of being surrounded, alone, I know they would beat me badly.”
At a normally bustling, now deserted recreation area close to the so-called “Green Line”, the invisible border that separates the east of the city from the west, a Jewish resident named Gabriel said there was ‘particular tension’ between the city’s Jewish and Arab communities.
“This area is normally quite busy, it's one of the few mixed areas in the city, clearly, it is a little less mixed today,” he said to FRANCE 24. “It’s sad.”
In the city that was built on centuries of coexistence, the current situation can also be life-threatening. In amateur footage from last Sunday, a Jewish extremist is seen shooting at residents in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Shuafat.
One of the bullets hit Tamer Idris in the forearm, giving him multiple fractures, and his neighbour remains in intensive care.
“In our neighbourhood, this is the first time that something like this has happened, not just these days, it has never happened before,” Idris said.
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