Major Islamic, Jewish and Christian holidays coincide this year, raising tensions. Palestinians and the Israeli police have clashed more often in recent weeks. Last week, Israeli security forces attacked at a very sensitive time, during the morning prayers in Ramadan, even inside the al-Aqsa mosque† This is rare and just now was seen by the Palestinians as unnecessary and an ultimate provocation.
The Israeli authorities on the Temple Mount have determined that from today no Jewish visitors are allowed on the mountain, because the last ten days of Ramadan have started.
Palestinian ‘red line’
This week, rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza for the first time in months. Hamas, which controls Gaza, had already warned that any incident at the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem would mean crossing a “red line”. The militant Palestinian movement accused Israel of tolerating attacks on believers.
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett said that Hamas is engaged in a smear campaign and that Israel is doing everything it can to ensure that all religious groups enjoy their holidays safely.
The rocket attacks were all intercepted by Israel’s anti-aircraft defense system, but Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response:
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