Multiple rockets were fired again at Israel from the Gaza strip on Saturday night after a mere day-long pause on attacks as Israeli police and Palestinians clashed outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls overnight.
Militants fired rockets towards Sderot and Kibbutz Nirim towns in southern Israel, triggering sirens and sending residents rushing to bomb shelters, the Israeli army said.
It comes after thirty-six rockets were launched overnight Friday, the military said, the most in a single night this year.
Multiple rockets were fired again at Israel from the Gaza strip on Saturday night after a mere day-long pause on attacks
The Israeli army posted a video showing a rocket being fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel on Saturday night
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear deployed around the Old City after nightly clashes spilled into the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank
Pictured: Palestinians chant slogans as they burn tires during a rally in support of demonstrators in Jerusalem on April 24, 2021
As tensions flared in the capital during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan overnight into Sunday at least six Palestinians were injured and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for ‘calm on all sides’.
But the premier also warned that that Israel remains ‘prepared for all scenarios’ after dozens of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Friday night, prompting Israeli retaliatory air strikes on targets operated by Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
But despite Netanyahu’s threats, further rockets were fired towards Israel from the Gaza strip on Saturday night.
The Israeli army said a rocket fired towards Sderot was intercepted by air defences while the second landed in an open field, the military said. A third projectile failed to cross the border, detonating inside the Gaza Strip.
The barrage of fire come as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police in east Jerusalem after Hamas voiced support for the protests.
Netanyahu made the remarks after attending an emergency security meeting with senior officials, including army chief Aviv Kohavi, hours after Israeli warplanes struck Gaza early Saturday and a second night of clashes between Palestinians and police in Jerusalem.
‘First of all we want to ensure that law and order are respected… now we demand compliance with the law and I call for calm on all sides,’ Netanyahu said in a statement after the security talks.
The clashes on Saturday evening were less severe than on previous days, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Some Palestinians threw stones and bottles as police on horseback dispersed the crowds, though the violence appeared less intense than on previous nights
Protests spread to several cities in the West Bank and along the Israel-Gaza border. The Israeli military said it dispersed hundreds of Palestinians, some throwing rocks and burning tyres
Six Palestinians were injured, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
After Netanyahu’s comments, the Israeli army said it intercepted another rocket launched from the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening.
There have been nightly disturbances since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 13, amid Palestinian anger over police blocking off access to the promenade around the walls of the Old City and a ban on gatherings.
A series of videos posted online have also shown young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Jewish extremists taking to the streets to bully Arabs.
A march into the heart of Arab east Jerusalem by hundreds of supporters of far-right Jewish nationalist group Lehava added fuel to the fire.
At least 125 people were injured Thursday when Palestinian protesters, angered by chants of ‘death to Arabs’ from far-right Jewish demonstrators, clashed repeatedly with police.
Skirmishes broke out again on Friday when tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers left Jerusalem’s revered Al-Aqsa mosque after night prayers and found themselves confronted by dozens of armed police, some on horseback.
Protesters hurled water bottles at police, who fired stun grenades to disperse them.
The violence was the worst in years between Israeli police and Palestinians in the disputed Holy City.
Clashes and violent incidents have occurred almost nightly in Jerusalem – a city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews – since the start of Ramadan on April 13
Pictured: Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian protester during clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 24, 2021
‘We uphold freedom of religion… for all residents and visitors of Jerusalem,’ Netanyahu said.
Expressions of concern and calls for restraint have come from the European Union, United Nations and other countries.
The United States, which has taken a more even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since President Joe Biden took office in January urged ‘calm and unity’.
‘The rhetoric of extremist protesters chanting hateful and violent slogans must be firmly rejected,’ State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted.
Meanwhile, Israeli chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, is weighing ‘a series of steps for possible responses,’ and preparations if the situation continues to escalate, the military said in a statement. He also postponed a trip to the United States that was scheduled for Sunday.
Hundreds of Palestinians also rallied Friday at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, police said.
In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Palestinians threw stones and petrol bombs towards the tomb of biblical matriarch Rachel, a shrine venerated by Jews and Muslims.
The protests centre on Damascus Gate in the Old City’s walls – and have flared in recent days as thousands pour out of the historic gateway after leaving the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque following Ramadan nightly prayers
A member of the Israeli security forces bleeds from his mouth during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 24, 2021
Palestinians say police have tried to prevent them from holding their usual Ramadan evening gatherings outside the gate, where metal barriers have been put up in its amphitheatre-style plaza. Israelis have been angered by videos on social media showing Palestinians assaulting religious Jews in the city. Pictured: Officer points a stun gun at protesters
Jerusalem mayor Moshe Lion told public radio he was in talks with Palestinian community leaders in east Jerusalem ‘to end this pointless violence’ and that he had tried to cancel Thursday’s far-right march.
The office of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned ‘the growing incitement by extremist far-right Israeli settler groups advocating for the killing of Arabs’.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi condemned ‘racist attacks’ by Israelis against Palestinians in east Jerusalem, and called for ‘international action to protect them’.
‘Jerusalem is a red line and touching it, is playing with fire,’ he warned.
Israel’s arch-enemy Iran also weighed in, with foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh praising Palestinian ‘resistance’ and condemning what he called the ‘Zionists’ savage actions’.
UN special coordinator for Middle East peace Tor Wennesland, urged all sides to ‘exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation’, adding ‘the provocative acts across Jerusalem must cease’.
Pictured: Palestinians step on posters depicting Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an anti-Israel protest over tension in Jerusalem, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 24
Violence spilled over to Gaza overnight between Friday and Saturday, when Palestinian militants fired 36 rockets at Israel soon after Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas and other armed groups issued a joint call for Palestinian resistance in Jerusalem
An Israeli soldier escorts a Palestinian woman to safety as Palestinian youth clash with Israeli security forces in the city center of the occupied West Bank town of Hebron on April 24, 2021
Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, voiced support for the east Jerusalem protesters.
‘The spark you light today will be the wick of the explosion to come in the face of the enemy,’ it said in a statement.
An alliance of Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and its smaller ally Islamic Jihad, issued a statement warning we ‘cannot remain silent’ in the face of the violence.
Militants in Gaza fired a first salvo of three rockets at Israel shortly before midnight (2100 GMT) Friday, the military said.
Israeli tanks shelled Gaza in response and launched air strikes on the blockaded coastal enclave controlled by the Muslim militant group Hamas after more rockets were fired.
A Palestinian boy swirls a homemade sparkler as protesters burn tires during a rally in support of demonstrators in Jerusalem in Gaza city on Saturday night
Israeli police detain a Palestinian man during clashes between the police and Palestinian protester on Saturday night
The violence was the worst in years between Israeli police and Palestinians in the disputed Holy City
Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the army ‘was ready for the possibility of escalation’.
The Israeli army said the 36 rockets fired at Israel were intercepted or hit open ground on Friday night.
In response, it said the air strikes, involving fighter jets and attack helicopters, struck Hamas military targets as well as underground infrastructure and rocket launchers.
‘Concerning the Gaza Strip, I gave instructions that we be prepared for all scenarios,’ Netanyahu said.
Hamas did not claim responsibility for the rocket fire, but Israel considers the group responsible for all fire emanating from the territory.
Jerusalem, home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2014, similar tensions erupted into a 50-day war between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group.
Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group sworn to Israel’s destruction, are bitter enemies that have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.
Although neither side appears to have an interest in escalating tensions, Hamas sees itself as the defender of Jerusalem and may feel obligated to act, or at least tacitly encourage rocket attacks by other groups, ahead of upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. Hamas’ armed wing has warned Israel ‘not to test’ its patience.
At dawn, hundreds of people in Gaza challenged nightly curfews imposed by Hamas to curb the coronavirus outbreak and took to the streets in an act of solidarity with fellow Palestinians in Jerusalem, burning tires.
Palestinian protesters hold up the flag of Palestine during protests in eastern Jerusalem on Saturday night
Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian protester on Saturday night
The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. Its fate has been one of the most divisive issues in the peace process, which ground to a halt more than a decade ago.
Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police on a nightly basis since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan nearly two weeks ago.
The tensions began when police placed barricades outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, where Muslims traditionally gather to enjoy the evening after the daytime fast.
The clashes intensified Thursday evening when hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones and bottles at police, who fired a water cannon and stun grenades to disperse them. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in the melee.
At the same time, a far-right Jewish group known as Lahava led a march of hundreds of protesters chanting ‘Arabs get out!’ toward the Damascus Gate. The group, led by a disciple of the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane, is allied with elements of a far-right party elected to Israel’s parliament last month.
The show of force came in response to videos circulated on TikTok showing Palestinians slapping religious Jews at random. Other videos made in response to them appear to show Jews assaulting Arabs.
After keeping them a few hundred yards away from Damascus Gate, police used water cannon, stun grenades and mounted police to push far-right protesters back toward mostly Jewish west Jerusalem.
In all, police said 44 people were arrested and 20 officers were injured.