Analysis: Hamas And Israel Both Claim Victory Over Controversial Flag Parade

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The picture taken Tuesday of a policeman falling off his horse and running away with other policemen from rocks being thrown at them is paradigmatic of the security situation in Israel over the last month. Israeli Arabs, both from East Jerusalem and from other mixed towns, have vented anger over their spurious claims that Israel has harmed El Aqsa mosque by targeting the easiest and most conspicuous factor : police and border police. Rather than being drawn into confrontation with protesters which could spiral out of hand if one of them were killed or seriously injured, police prefer to back off and retreat and only afterwards apprehend the suspects who appear to be ringleaders.

מהומות בירושלים: ערבים יידו אבנים לעבר שוטרי מג"ב, פרש אחד נפל מסוס pic.twitter.com/x7TjUJECBN

— מעריב אונליין (@MaarivOnline) June 15, 2021

In terms of sovereignty, the behavior of police may look inglorious and this is how the Arab public as well as Hamas interpret it. Searching for a moral victory after threatening to send rockets if Israel held the flag parade in Jerusalem as planned, Hamas stated that the fact that the parade had been rerouted and that planes flying towards Ben Gurion airport had also been rerouted proved that they had demonstrated an “equation of deterrence” with Israel.

However the fact that the parade took place and no rockets were sent (although terror balloons caused fires in the Western Negev) could be interpreted as a victory for Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem, as it did not cave in to threats of violence and held the parade as planned from Damascus Gate, which is the epicenter of the Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. At the parade, right-wing politicians like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Betzalel Smotrich had a rare moment of satisfaction after the last few disappointing weeks and Jewish youths also vented their frustration by shouting “Death to the Arabs”, to the consternation of government officials.

Possibly a situation which is effectively a draw where both sides declare victory is the best solution in the volatile period Israel has been experiencing. With the parade behind it, the government can settle down to the more urgent tasks of passing a budget, finding work for the hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 unemployed and attempting to entice Arabs and chareidim into joining the workforce despite the dearth of employment opportunities by providing more education for them. Given the huge ideological differences between the various components of the government, the most that can be expected from them is to deal with essential issues and avoid topics of contention, leaving them for a “right-wing” government to deal with in the future.