Friday

Dawn

Lots of tensions today. In the early morning there were scuffles in the Al Aqsa compound and we heard some stun grenades shot ... and that happened again after noonday prayers. Police presence in the Old City has been stepped up. And Gaza had fired missiles into Israel twice and Israel bombed terrorist targets in Gaza. It's been all too dramatic ... and it won't end there.

Veggie hawkers at Damascus Gate

Meantime the Israeli Ministry of Health has banned all flights from China coming to Israel. The Ministry had spent the entire morning discussing measures to take to keep coronavirus out of the country. There's all round fear and face-masks are all sold out in the Old City. The cold damp weather is not helping to stop coughs and colds. Today I tried to stay home and not go to work as huge crowds are expected to swarm the Old City on Friday. But some of my volunteers in the other library are leaving the next day and today is the last day of work for them so I had to go and thank them and wish them well. I took the long way outside the City walls to avoid the crowds.    https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-braces-for-clashes-at-Al-Aqsa-on-Friday-as-tensions-rise-615929?fbclid=IwAR1kpVPCAmK_9ppyoCWNlG9cSJvD-NLGnNS7fbKaLdLh7hanvrmi5WdzUac

Well the weekend has started and we'll see developments on both events. Let's hope for the best.