New generation: Israel crackdown spotlights Palestinian ‘icons’

t is not the first time that Israel has detained or arrested Palestinian activists. But the mass arrests undertaken since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – agreed upon to end the recent cycle of violence – may backfire.

The detentions of Palestinian activists and journalists this time around are re-energizing a long-simmering peaceful resistance and launching a new generation of Palestinian icons fighting to protect their homes, as well as advocating self-determination.

In a statement, Israeli police said it launched “operation law and order” to bring rioters to justice and to “maintain public peace”. It added so far, “2,142 detainees have been registered”.

Palestinians, however, said Israeli police arrested those who had been peacefully protesting with the unstated but obvious aim to crush the momentum of their movement, which has picked up pace over the last month.

The Israeli police might have proved the Palestinians right as they arrested Muna al-Kurd. The 23-year-old activist had been highlighting an Israeli court’s order that her family, and several others, be forcibly evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah – a neighbourhood in the heart of East Jerusalem. Her twin brother, Mohammed al-Kurd, was also summoned and questioned by police.

Their arrests came a day after a journalist for Al Jazeera Media Network, Givara Budeiri, was briefly detained while reporting from Sheikh Jarrah.