With gallons of soap, ornate lanterns and fresh paint, Palestinian Muslims are sprucing up Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound in the week leading up to Ramadan, hoping that this year the holy month will be peaceful despite political tensions. Old and young volunteers arrived from Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to prepare Islam’s third holiest site ahead of Ramadan’s expected start on Saturday. Last year’s fasting month saw the beginning of the brutal Gaza war, where an Israeli bombing campaign in May killed more than 250 Palestinians and injured thousands. Threats of Palestinian displa…