This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license. Special Essays ∵ From Damascus Gate to Shaikh Jarrah: The Palestinian Sovereignty Protests in East Jerusalem Mansour Nasasra Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics and IR, Department of Politics and Government, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba mn261@exeter.ac.uk | mansor@bgu.ac.il Abstract The May 2021 Palestinian demonstrations in Shaikh Jarrah and Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem and elsewhere in Arab towns inside Israel mark a dramatic shift in Israeli Palestinian conflict. These events in al Quds (Jerusalem) are directly linked to the Israeli policy of expelling more Palestinians from the borderland zone. In effect, such policy is used to control the most important geo-political space– the Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood. In so doing, it imposes sovereignty over the Damascus Gate and its steps. The ongoing Israeli policy of imposing full control over the Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood would mean challenging the historical role of diplomatic missions, international consulates and organizations, which represent many countries in the region. Based on ongoing research and interviews in East Jerusalem, this special essay argues that the Shaikh Jarrah protests are another manifestation of the ongoing struggle over control and sovereignty in the Old City and occupied East Jerusalem. It shows how the Shaikh Jarrah demonstrations display a unique picture of the conflict over borderland and geopolitics in al Quds. Keywords Shaikh Jarrah – East Jerusalem – Damascus Gate – demonstrations – Palestinians – geo-politics – borders © Mansour Nasasra, 2021 | doi:10.1163/2667372X-01020006 Protest 1 (2021) 329–345 Downloaded from Brill.com03/01/2022 02:00:27AM via free access