Friday

Waving the 4 species at the
Wailing Wall

Yesterday night saw the dreadful murder of a young jewish couple, shot in the head while driving through Palestinian Territory. In the car were their 4 children, all alive. This vicious murder will provoke jews to take revenge on arabs but killings and burnings. While not trivialising the murder, I cannot but think of the jewish murder of the arab family that left parents and baby burnt to death last month. The murderers have not been caught yet.

Today Friday saw a lot of tensions int he Old City as Israeli police took drastic measures by locking down the Muslim Quarter to muslims going to the Al Aqsa mosque to pray. Men below 50 yrs were not allowed to enter. In protest the men blocked the streets along the Al Aqsa and prayed in the streets. Several scuffles took place and stun grenades fired. I think tonight there'll be violence behind our house, as was the past few days. Another sleepless night. Mind you we living here are tired of these riots. It's the few trouble makers who're making life difficult for everyone.

Jaffa Street is packed with
people enjoying the festivities

Meanwhile the jews continue celebrating Sukkoth. Nothing is going to stop them. Men carry for the 4 species and wave them in the 4 corners of the earth during prayers. The 4 species are the date palm frond, a branch of myrtle, a branch of willow and an etrog which is a huge tasteless lemon.

In the New City, the night are packed with street markets, street performances and food. It's very festive but one thing is very obvious - there are no arabs in the streets. The tension between the 2 races are reaching a peak. Life in West Jerusalem during Sukkoth is full of fun. Kids carry balloons given free at street corners. But in East Jerusalem, the streets are empty as arabs stay indoors while soldiers patrol in groups of 5 or 12. There's an unspoken curfew.