They rejoiced at the deaths of Israelis.. Learn about the reasons for the failure of the occupation policy to strip the Jerusalemite youth of their national identity

Occupied Jerusalem 

- From the first moment of the spread of the news of a shooting attack inside a synagogue in the "Nabi Jacob" settlement built on the lands of the towns of Beit Hanina and Hizma in Jerusalem, Jerusalemites celebrated by launching fireworks and car horns in the streets, and distributing sweets to celebrate the deaths of Israelis in this process.

The "patriotic songs" that young men also deliberately play in their cars during the burning situation in the city may expose them to prosecution and accountability, but they do not pay attention to the consequences when it comes to their national identity, which they insist on adhering to.

Since the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the occupation authorities have tried to strip Jerusalemites from their national identity. They have helped young men drop out of school at an early age to enter the Israeli labor market with attractive salaries, and facilitated their enrollment in Hebrew language courses, as well as drug trafficking to drown Palestinian youths in their abuse.

The occupation penetrated smoothly into the depth of the Jerusalemite neighborhoods through the mass centers, which numbered 7 in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem so far.

The Jerusalemites bruised the head of the settlers after #Operation_Jerusalem... Where is the glory, Izzat 😂 pic.twitter.com/S4edI55v2A

Reda Yasen (@ RedaYasen2021) January 28, 2023

Loyalty to Israel

And the occupation authorities did all this in order to confine the young men to one square, which is "loyalty to Israel," but with every operation, Israel discovers that the winds are blowing in ways that its ships do not desire.

The young men who work in the Israeli labor market and are proficient in Hebrew, and some of them did not participate in university education, are the ones who carry out the most painful operations, such as Uday al-Tamimi and Khairy Alqam recently, and thus Israel finds itself facing greater isolation in Jerusalem despite its extended hands everywhere.

For example, dozens of young men gathered yesterday in front of the house of the perpetrator of the operation, knowing that the occupation forces would storm it at any moment and that they would be arrested en masse, but that did not stop them from rallying around the Alqam family from the first moment to announce his death.

The social incubator formed by Jerusalemites during popular uprisings and deteriorating security events. The Israeli establishment feels that its money, which is pumped into the category of "Israelization", is in vain, especially since the most recent law in this framework was approved in 2018 and bore No. 3790, through which about $27 million was allocated annually for "development." The system of education and extracurricular activities east of the Holy City over a period of 5 years, so that the total budget for the project is about 136 million.

A comprehensive strike prevails in the town of Al-Tur # in Jerusalem, mourning the soul of the two martyrs # Jerusalemites Wadih Abu Ramuz and Khairy Alqam pic.twitter.com/BHyJ9xhMRS

- Nabdulquds, the pulse of Jerusalem (@nabdulquds) January 28, 2023

Extracurricular activities

These funds, which have been pumped for 5 years to build schools in the east of the city, provide free education, implement the Israeli curriculum, and run a huge series of extracurricular activities, almost 90% of which are far from the political aspect, and are limited to the recreational aspect, but 10% of them follow through them a policy of soft penetration into the society. The minds of the youth and children of Jerusalem.

Imad Abu Awwad, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Studies of Palestinian and Israeli Affairs, touched - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - on several factors that he says contributed to Israel's inability to domesticate Jerusalemites.

The most important of these factors is the connection of Jerusalemite youth with its identity associated with Al-Aqsa Mosque, which motivates Jerusalemites regardless of their level of religious and intellectual commitment. Despite attempts to influence the new generation by facilitating the promotion and drug use, Israel has so far failed to crush the national identity of Jerusalemites.

"When sanctities and beliefs are violated, in addition to tangible racism in all aspects of life, we find that the new generation is motivated and aware, and does not fall into the mire of familyhood," Abu Awwad added.

When my father, Khairi Alqam, was arrested, the people around him congratulated him on his son’s heroism. He told them in one sentence, “The mother is the one who raises, the father works all the time.” Attributing credit to his wife, the least loyalty to her was that he considered his son’s heroism to be part of his wife’s righteousness. pic.twitter.com/vWgsMytAXp

- Hammam Younis Al-Zaytouna 🌿 (@ hema20104) January 28, 2023

The audacity of Jerusalemites

Another factor is the audacity of the Jerusalemites and their lack of fear of the heavily armed forces, due to the daily friction with the Israelis in the Holy City, which made them more aware of the Palestinian situation in how to deal with all soft and rough penetration attempts.

With two shootings taking place in less than 24 hours, the voice of the iron-and-fire policy becomes louder, with Israeli officials vowing to demolish the homes of the perpetrators, arrest their family members, and take decisions to deport them from their holy city.

Although these arbitrary measures, in addition to the policy of keeping bodies in refrigerators, were taken against many of the families of the perpetrators, they did not lead to stopping individual attacks against the occupation forces and settlers in Jerusalem.