The belief that without Western / British "imperialism and mismanagement", Jews, Muslims (Shia and Suni) (and Christians) would just peacefully co-exist in Jerusalem is ... wishful thinking at best.
Lack of violence doesn’t necessarily mean a just peaceful coexistence. It sometimes means that one side in a multiethnic state has such overwhelming force that the other ethnicities, though they suffer injustice, try to avoid rocking the boat lest they become targets of violence. This is certainly the case with the Christians of the Levant, who had to accept various restrictions that were not imposed on the Muslim population (e.g. restrictions on symbolism displayed on the outside of places of worship, the prohibition of accepting converts), in order to avoid sparking sectarian conflict.
