The Israeli airstrike on Gaza following Hamas’s rocket fire on Jerusalem after the violence at the city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel’s retaliation now killed 20 civilians including 9 children and this is no longer a religious or property-land issue but a conscience issue.
The background story leading to the events is:
Sheikh Jarrah is an east Jerusalem neighborhood making big headlines. There is a long-running legal case involving the homes of 4 Palestinian families on land claimed by Jewish Israelis, placed to be heard by Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday.
A small Jewish community lived in the area before 1948 when East Jerusalem fell under Jordanian control. It holds significance for Jews because it is home to a shrine revered as the final resting place of Shimon Hatzadik, a 3rd century BCE high priest.
The 4 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah may be removed from their homes if the Israeli Supreme Court turns down their appeal against a pending eviction. Several attempts at mediation have collapsed.
Tensions in Jerusalem, specifically in the Old City, erupted over last month after police prevented Palestinians from gathering outside Damascus Gate at the start of Ramadan. Arabs called this inflammatory and Israeli authorities canceled the policy.
A group of Palestinians filmed videos in which they attacked ultra-Orthodox pedestrians. In response, the Jewish supremacist Lehava group marched through Jerusalem’s calling for “Death to Arabs.” This was broadly denounced by Israelis. It is heartening to know that conscience is alive in humans!
Tensions and violence continued to rise. This past week, an Israeli teen was gunned down as he stood at a bus terminal and 3 days later a Palestinian teen was shot by Israeli soldiers as they searched for the shooter.
The coming week will see many emotionally strung dates, including Jerusalem Day (when Israelis celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem), Eid al Fitr (when Muslims mark the end of Ramadan) & Nakba Day (when Palestinians mark the ‘tragedy’ in 1948 that led to Israel’s creation).
Later, violence spread to the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa Mosque when hundreds of Palestinian rioters threw rocks and other objects at Israeli policemen. At night, Palestinians stood in front of Al Aqsa chanting, “bomb bomb Tel Aviv”.
The violence has now grabbed the attention of the United Nations, the European Union, US lawmakers, and even some celebrities and people took to condemning Israel and some sides condemned the Palestinians.
On Monday between Palestinians and Israeli police, and police fired stun grenades inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, and demonstrators threw stones at the police. Hundreds of Palestinians and around 30 police were injured, according to reports. The situation escalated further as Hamas fired rockets towards Jerusalem before Israel launched its own airstrikes against what it said was militant targets in the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 20 people, including nine children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes continued late into the night, with Palestinians reporting loud explosions close to Gaza City and across the coastal strip.
Israel’s military said it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “red line” by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since a 2014 war
How did civilians get killed? The blatant attack on children and civilians is unforgivable. How did Israel strike at a civilian line? If they randomly struck at the dwellings of civilians, then Israel’s airstrike killing 20 including 9 children is a conscience issue.