Ever since the eruption of the Second Palestinian Intifada in 2000, which began when Israeli forced killed Palestinians protesting against the provocative visit by Israel’s opposition leader at the time Ariel Sharon to the al-Aqsa mosque compound, a notable shift occurred in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel forcibly removed the Jordanian waqf guard, which has been tasked with managing the compound, from the Mughrabi gate, leaving the gate guarded only by an Israeli police officer. Since Israel began its ongoing occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, it has severely restricted Palestinians’ acces…