36

Ariel

He shook the dust off his feet, put his shoes on, and carried his black bag on his left shoulder. There was a heavy presence of police cars and a large number of tanks and military vehicles heading north on the main street.

He saw three buses full of settlers, heading south to Jaffa, pass in front of him. What will they do now? Will they turn against secular citizens? The spectacle worried him. Using his cell phone, he searched the internet for any news about the subject. He walked along the shore from Tel Aviv to Jaffa to catch up with them and see what was going on.

He stood in front of the Hasan Beg Mosque, which was by the shore on his left. The Ottoman style of the building, which was surrounded by all these luxury hotels, looked conspicuous and incongruous. Do the hotel residents ever wonder about the mosque? He crossed the street to the other side. The mosque’s outer gate and its door were both shut. He looked at the security camera hanging above. He climbed the iron gate, jumped over, and landed on his right foot. He felt a slight pain as he climbed the steps and tried the door handle, but it was locked. He shook it and knocked forcefully. He waited a bit and then put his left ear closer to the door. He thought he heard a rattle. He tried to open the door again. He went down the steps and went around. Why did he stop here? A beautiful building can be built in this huge courtyard without demolishing the old mosque, he thought. It can be left there. It might happen soon. He looked again in Jaffa’s direction. He called the army’s media office, which had announced earlier that it would stay open twenty-four hours in the coming days. He inquired about a response to his request to accompany the army as they enter Arab houses in Jaffa. They assured him that his request had not been processed yet, and they would e-mail him as soon as a decision was made, probably in the next few hours. He put his cell phone back in his pocket. He climbed the main gate to exit the mosque and walked toward Jaffa. He waved to the few cars passing by, hoping that someone would stop and give him a ride to the next intersection. A police car stopped and asked him what he was doing outside at that hour and in these circumstances. He identified himself and asked the policeman to take him along. The policeman hesitated, but then agreed to take him to the main square.