Palestinian-Islamists in Gaza are escalating attacks on Israel, in solidarity with ongoing violence in Jerusalem.
A rocket was fired from the Hamas-controlled territory into southern Israel pre-dawn yesterday, sending residents rushing into bomb-shelters after the sounding of air raid sirens at 1:30 AM. The missile hit an open area, and there have been no reports of injuries or property damage during the attack.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out a retaliatory strike on a Hamas military post in the southern Gaza Strip.
Underscoring that Israel holds the Islamist group responsible for attacks emanating from the territory under its control, the IDF later tweeted: “Terror has consequences.”
The violence comes amid intensifying violence between Palestinian rioters and Israeli security forces on the Israel-Gaza border and in east Jerusalem.
Israeli firefighters respond to more than 20 fires yesterday, in the 4th consecutive day of airborne arson attacks launched from Gaza.
The Palestinian incendiary devices attached to balloons destroyed acres of agricultural fields in Sha’ar HaNegev, Sdot Negev and Eshkol Regional Councils.
Train passage was disrupted between Ashkelon and Netivot when a fire ignited near the railway track, while another suspicious device tied to a balloon was discovered near the lines outside Kibbutz Gevim.
Several roads were blocked near Sderot due to blazes near the city and its vicinity. Firefighters also battled flames in Nahal Oz and near the Gama Junction.
In other violence, hundreds of Palestinians rioted at multiple sites along the security fence with Israel on Saturday, where they set fire to tires and hurled improvised incendiary devices at IDF units.
“We salute the ppl. of Al-Aqsa, who oppose the arrogance of the Zionists & we call on our ppl. in Palestine to support their brothers by all means,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, a leader of the armed Islamist group Hamas that rules Gaza, wrote on Twitter.
Palestinians living in Gaza also held a demonstration in Beit Lahia on Friday, as another senior Hamas leader urged support for “our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.”
“You have made us proud, and we will not leave you to face the occupation alone, and we will not leave you to face the security coordination (of Israel) alone,” declared Fathi Hammad.
East Jerusalem has seen nightly clashes during observance by Muslims of their holy month of Ramadan, which began 13 April. Israeli police attempted to maintain order by preventing evening gatherings at the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate after Iftar, the breaking of the daytime fast; which Palestinians regarded as a restriction on their freedom to assemble.
Bloody clashes between Arab rioters and police have also been fueled by an impending High Court decision over homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which the Israeli Foreign Ministry described as a “real-estate dispute between private parties.” Several Palestinian families are currently appealing lower court verdicts ordering their eviction, upon findings that the land was owned by Jews who had been displaced in the 1948 division of the city.
In response to the rocket fire and continued airborne incendiary attacks, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Rassan Alian announced this morning that Israel’s Erez Crossing will be closed until further notice, with the exception of humanitarian or other exceptional cases.
“The terrorist organization Hamas is held accountable for all that is done in and from the Gaza Strip toward the State of Israel, and it will therefore bear the consequences for the violence committed against the country’s citizens,” said Maj. Gen. Alian in a statement from the COGAT Spokesperson’s Office, underscoring that the attacks constitute a violation of sovereignty by the State of Israel.
In response to the rocket fire and continued airborne incendiary attacks, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Rassan Alian announced this morning that Israel’s Erez Crossing will be closed until further notice, with the exception of humanitarian or other exceptional cases.
“The terrorist organization Hamas is held accountable for all that is done in and from the Gaza Strip toward the State of Israel, and it will therefore bear the consequences for the violence committed against the country’s citizens,” said Maj. Gen. Rassan Alian in a statement from the COGAT Spokesperson’s Office, underscoring that the attacks constitute a violation of sovereignty by the State of Israel.
“Israel will not stand for any disruption of the safety, the law and order, and the stability of security,” stressed the COGAT chief in a video statement to the Palestinian people posted on COGAT’s Facebook page (Almunasseq), following the “security deterioration and the escalation of violence and disturbances in Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.”
In his remarks, the Coordinator referred to the various events in the arena, emphasizing that “Israel is committed and acts at all times to allow freedom of worship in Jerusalem and in general for all different religions” – but will not tolerate the violation of security, law and order and the violation of the region’s stability.
The following is the Coordinator’s full statement:
“During the past week, we have all seen the violence breaking out in the Judea and Samaria area, the Gaza Strip, and even Jerusalem.
Some of the participants believe sincerely that they are protecting the holy sites. But in fact, they are defiling them during the blessed month of Ramadan and on Qadr Night (Laylat al-Qadr). The participants are being cynically incited and exploited by those who are trying to escalate and inflame the situation, using violent and inciteful rhetoric on social and mainstream media.
I am telling you: Israel is committed to enabling freedom of worship, in Jerusalem and everywhere else, for all faiths, and Israel continues taking action to allow everyone to practice their religion, particularly during the current days. But there is a difference between freedom of worship on the one hand and unbridled violence and terrorism on the other hand. Israel will not stand for any disruption of the safety, the law and order, and the stability of security and of civil life that are in everyone’s interest.
I must remind you that while the coronavirus is not yet behind us and its economic ramifications are still felt in almost every Palestinian home, there are those who are already sabotaging attempts at returning to normal life. Let it be clear that there will be difficulty in advancing any civilian measures taken to ease restrictions, as long as the violence persists. It is not violence and terrorism that should be dominating the agenda, but the economic and social welfare of the residents.
We are at the start of the joyous and blessed Eid al-Fitr holiday — an occasion for rejoicing, and for family — after a difficult year when the coronavirus overshadowed all festivities. Let us give the holiday its proper respect. Let us keep the peace and celebrate, rather than battle. Let us pray and sanctify these special days rather than allowing inciters to dominate us and wreak violence.
I wish you all a happy and blessed holiday and “kool am wa-intum bialf kheir.”