Tensions rise after rocket fire and second Israeli raid on al-Aqsa mosque
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Loading... - Cynthia otoo
- 06 Apr 2023
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Police enter Jerusalem holy site in early hours after Palestinian militants launch rockets into Israel from Gaza
Rocket fire from Gaza and a second Israeli police raid on Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque in as many nights have stoked fears of further escalation during a sensitive period of overlapping religious holidays.
Palestinian militants in the blockaded Gaza Strip launched about nine rockets into Israel in the early hours, setting off air raid sirens across the south of the country, but causing no casualties. Most of the rockets exploded before impact, the Israeli army said, causing no damage. None of Gaza’s militant groups claimed responsibility.
Two rockets were fired just before the second incident at the holy Jerusalem site, in which police using stun grenades and rubber bullets entered the compound to remove worshippers. Six people were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The latest violence follows an Israeli police raid on al-Aqsa on Wednesday, in which at least 12 people were injured and more than 350 arrested. That raid triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which was countered with Israeli airstrikes on military sites belonging to Hamas, the Islamist group in control of the strip. The raid drew widespread condemnation in the Muslim world and concern from the White House.
The two straight days of violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday came after a year of spiralling bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also carried echoes of 2021, when clashes at al-Aqsa helped start an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are not interested in an escalation but we are ready for any scenario,” said Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson.
Elsewhere in the region, clashes broke out overnight between protesters and police in the Arab-majority town of Umm al-Fahm, in northern Israel, and a Palestinian teenager was shot and lightly wounded by an Israeli civilian in Jerusalem’s Old City. Read More…
