The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem drew criticism on Thursday with an announcement that he will personally fire the traditional Ramadan cannon early in the Muslim holy month.Then at the end of the article....
Ramadan, a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayer, is expected to begin at sundown on Friday, pending a declaration from Islamic officials. The firing of the cannon on Sunday will mark the end of the day's fast.
Ekrima Sabri, the orator of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the chief of the Islamic Supreme Committee, said Mayor Nir Barkat is attempting to provide political cover for his administration’s evictions of Palestinian residents and destruction of Palestinian houses.
Mayor Barkat heads the Jerusalem Municipality, an institution not recognized by Palestinians as legitimate because it administers areas east of the Green Line, which were occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. The international community also does not recognize Israeli sovereignty in East Jerusalem.
Past Israeli mayors have also fired the cannon. Former Mayor Uri Lupolianski fired the cannon in 2007 and 2008.So why the stink this year?
One answer is because this year the US administration has changed the status of Jerusalem from a final status issue to a presumed Palestinian Arab capital. Palestinian Arabs, instead of doing what all good liberals expect them to do (thankfully accepting this gift and reciprocating with confidence building measures,) instead act as any sane observer of them knew they would - by becoming more intransigent.