Despite the doomsday forecasts, Ramadan was passing relatively quietly in Jerusalem. Until it overlapped with Passover eve. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Israeli police stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque, alleging that a group of “rioters” set up barricades inside and piled up fireworks, sticks and stones.

Images of riot police charging hard inside the esplanade quickly circulated on social media, and the spark spread to Gaza. The “assault on Al Aqsa” culminated in 12 injuries and more than 350 detainees. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that Israeli forces prevented access to ambulances, which tried to help worshipers who inhaled tear gas.

Hours later, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired 16 missiles at Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip, one hitting a factory in Sderot. The rest of the projectiles were intercepted by the “Iron Dome” anti-missile batteries, or fell in open territory. An Israeli was injured while running to the armored shelter.

In response to missiles fired from Gaza, Israeli jets bombed Hamas infrastructure in the strip. According to the statement of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a factory and an arms warehouse of the Islamist group were destroyed. Before seven in the morning, the Islamist factions launched a new salvo of missiles.

The scale of violence in recent months in the West Bank, with recurring Israeli military invasions and armed attacks by Palestinian armed cells, suggested that the violence would eventually spread to Jerusalem. In last night’s outburst, the script of previous years was traced. Young Palestinians barricaded themselves on the esplanade, given the widespread rumor that Jewish religious groups intended to complete the sacrifice of an animal before the start of Pesaj.

As every year, the Israeli police arrested an individual – a member of a messianic group that intends to restore the Temple of Jerusalem – who was carrying a goat in his car and was heading to the esplanade, considered the holiest in Judaism and the third in the world. Islam. The current status quo allows Jews to visit the site, but they are prohibited from praying. However, in recent times Jews quietly promoted rituals and even raised the flag of Israel. The national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, reaffirmed his commitment to reverse spiritual “discrimination”. “The Temple Mount is not just for the Arabs, it is the most important place for the state of Israel. We will not give up”, proclaimed the radical minister.

For the Palestinians, any alteration of the status quo in Al Aqsa, their national and religious epicenter, is a declaration of war. Analyst Muhammad Shehada considered that the Israeli police “opened the ground for Israeli extremists to ascend the Temple Mount and claim control over the place occupied during Passover.” Last Friday, Israeli agents shot down a Palestinian who, according to the police version, tried to seize their weapon. Police have been arresting worshipers for several nights now who remain in the mosque to pray overnight. Hamas denounced what happened as “an unprecedented crime” and called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “come out en masse to defend Al Aqsa.”

“Netanyahu must clear up the uncertainty about Gallant’s dismissal, Israel’s security is at risk and our enemies will not wait,” opponent Yair Lapid told the executive. It is not clear if the dismissal of defense minister Yoav Gallant, who cried out against the “judicial reform” promoted by “Bibi”, will end up being reversed. In the Israeli security establishment they demand to stop a war escalation during Pesaj.