This is the second attack of this kind this week, as tensions between Israel and Palestine have increased to the point where violence in Jerusalem has been outweighed by the rocket fire.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties, and no one claimed responsibility for the strike. Israel considers Hamas, the militant group in Gaza, responsible for rocket fire. It usually responds to airstrikes within hours.
Hamas had previously made vague threats about a planned march by ultra-nationalist Israelis through Jerusalem. After a similar incident that occurred nearly one year ago, which led to an Israel-Gaza conflict, Israeli police prevented the marchers reaching dense Palestinian neighborhoods around the Old City.
To close the main road that leads down to Damascus Gate (the epicenter of last years unrest), police used parked trucks as barricades and parked cars. After some pushing and shoveling with police, marchers rallied close to the barricades waving flags and singing and chanting.
The Israeli police deployed large numbers of officers around the Old City, which is home to important religious sites for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They were concerned that confrontations might further aggravate an already stressful situation during Passover and Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Tensions have risen in recent weeks following a series of attacks on Israel that resulted in several deaths. Then, there were military operations in the West Bank. Monday saw Palestinian militants launch a rocket from Gaza Strip into Israel. Israel responded by launching airstrikes. The rocket was intercepted, and no casualties were reported.
After repeated clashes between Israeli and Palestinian police at Al-Aqsa mosque compound (known to Jews as Temple Mount), it was finally achieved.
The Jerusalem’s Old City hilltop shrine is third most sacred in Islam. For Jews, it is their holiest place, as it was the site where two temples were built in antiquity. It serves as the emotional ground zero of the Israeli-Palestinian war and has been a flashpoint in previous violence.
On Wednesday, a small number of Palestinian protestors hurled rocks at police officers while hundreds of Jewish tourists entered the holy flashpoint.
Amateur video of the scene showed police using non-lethal sponge-tipped projectiles as protesters surrounded the mosque. Police claimed that a firebomb was set on the mosque by one protester. However, it was quickly extinguished. There were no injuries.
Hamas stated Wednesday that Israel would be responsible for any repercussions if the marchers were allowed to “approach our holy places,” but did not elaborate.
Itamar Ben Vir, an ultra-nationalist lawmaker, was present at the rally and was met with cheers. He is a disciple a radical Rabbi whose violently antiarab ideology was once shunned by Israel, but is currently experiencing a revival.
In a statement, Naftali Bennett, Israeli Prime Minister, stated that he would stop Ben Gvir from visiting Damascus Gate. He stated, “I don’t want to allow petty political to endanger the lives of human beings.”
After weeks of protests and clashes around Al-Aqsa, Palestinian militants from Gaza fired rockets at Jerusalem last May. A larger group of thousands of Israelis marched to the Old City in a flag march. These events led to an eleven-day war between Israel & Hamas.
These marches are organized by Israeli nationalists in an attempt to claim sovereignty over east Jerusalem. Israel took it in 1967’s Mideast war along with West Bank and Gaza. This move was not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want an independent state in all three territory and consider east Jerusalem their capital.
Noam Nisan, the organizer of the march, stated that it was not provocative for a Jew to fly a flag in Jerusalem in an interview with Kan public radio.
The demonstration was in response to Palestinians who had earlier this week pelted buses with stones outside the Old City. Near the entrance to the Western Wall, where Jews can pray, was the attack.
