Middle East Conflict
Rockets from Gaza and counterattack
Israeli police escort a group of Jewish men to the Temple Mount, on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. photo
© Mahmoud Illean/AP/dpa
Israeli police clash with Palestinian believers in Jerusalem. A few hours later, rockets fly out of the Gaza Strip – Israel responds with a counterattack.
Confrontations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have raised concerns of further escalation in the Middle East. During the night, Israeli security forces clashed with dozens of Palestinians on the grounds of the Temple Mount.
According to the police, around 350 people were arrested. They had barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and set off firecrackers and threw stones, a spokeswoman said in the morning. Two police officers were injured. Police reportedly used tear gas and stun grenades to evacuate the mosque.
According to media reports, seven people on the Palestinian side were injured by rubber bullets and beatings. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the police actions. According to the Wafa news agency, he warned against “crossing the red lines at the holy places”. This could lead to a “big explosion”. Israel play with fire. According to the police, it was initially quiet on the site in the morning.
Answer from Gaza
In response, radical Palestinians from the Gaza Strip fired ten rockets into Israeli territory during the night. According to the military, five of them were intercepted, four landed in an open area and one near a factory in the Israeli city of Sderot. In the early hours of the morning, Israel then attacked several targets in the coastal strip. Among them were a military area and a military post. Security circles in the Gaza Strip said the facilities belonged to the armed wing of the ruling Hamas there. They were badly damaged in the attack. Nobody got hurt.
A Hamas spokesman said: “The bombing will not intimidate us, but will reinforce our commitment to exercising our right to support the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.” Gaza will continue to support the people of Jerusalem and the West Bank “by all means”.
A spokesman for the Israeli military said the army was “on the highest alert in all areas”. An attack from Gaza will be reacted to decisively. “We are not interested in an escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario.”
scene of violence
Violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces have repeatedly occurred in the area around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in recent years. In 2021, the situation escalated into an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. But it is also sacred to Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples there.
Before the start of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, there were fears that the already tense security situation in the country would deteriorate. A particularly large number of Muslims are currently coming to the Temple Mount to pray there during the month of fasting. The week-long Jewish Passover festival also begins in the evening. One of the customs is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Already tense security situation
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has long been extremely tense. On Tuesday, a Palestinian attacked two Israeli soldiers with a knife in a city south of Tel Aviv. According to the army, a soldier was shot on Wednesday night near Hebron in the West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, 14 Israelis and one Ukrainian have been killed in connection with Palestinian attacks. In the same period, 91 Palestinians lost their lives – they were shot in confrontations with the Israeli army or after their own attacks.