Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Rockets Fired From Gaza Raise Tension as Passover Begins
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
April 6, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens in southern Israel, as violence erupted for the second day in a row during a sensitive period of overlapping holidays.

The Israeli military said seven rockets launched from the Gaza Strip all exploded in midair. No group claimed responsibility for the barrage.

The barrage came after another tense night at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli police clashed with Muslim worshippers attempting to stay overnight.

Since Ramadan began March 22, scores of Muslims have repeatedly tried to stay overnight in the mosque, a practice that is typically permitted only during the last 10 days of the monthlong holiday. Israeli police have entered nightly to evict the worshipers, but on Tuesday the scene erupted in violence.

Worshippers threw stones and firecrackers at police, who responded with beatings that left dozens bloody and the arrest of hundreds.

On Wednesday, the Israeli police made no arrests but did detain and question some Palestinians, a spokesperson said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it was not allowed into the compound Wednesday, but dozens were injured from from beatings, rubber bullets and stun grenades, including an ambulance driver.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz said protests on Wednesday night drew hundreds in communities across Israel’s north, home to many of Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who make up one-fifth of its 9.6 million people. Police said they arrested five protesters in the large town of Um al-Fahm.

The rocket fire raised fears of a wider conflagration as Jews began the week-long Passover holiday, hundreds of Christians in the Old City gathered for Holy Thursday at the Holy Sepulcher to mark the Last Supper, and Muslims marked the Ramadan holy month.

Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam and stands on a hilltop known to Jews as the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism. Conflicting claims over it have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war two years ago between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.

Muslim leaders around the Middle East criticized the Israeli actions in Al-Aqsa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country recently reconciled with Israel and restored full diplomatic ties, condemned the violence in a television interview late Wednesday.

“Interventions and threats against the historical status and spirituality of Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as the Palestinians’ right to life and religious beliefs must come to an end,” Erdogan told Turkey’s 24 TV. “We will continue to stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters under all circumstances and protect what is sacred to us. Israel should know this.”

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group condemned the storming of the mosque, calling it “a flagrant violation of believers in Jerusalem” that violated religious, moral and human values.

The Islamic Waqf authorities, which manage the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, said 199 Jewish worshipers entered the site on Thursday morning without incident.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

DON'T MISS

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

DON'T MISS

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

DON'T MISS

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

DON'T MISS

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

DON'T MISS

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

DON'T MISS

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

DON'T MISS

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

DON'T MISS

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

UP NEXT

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

UP NEXT

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

UP NEXT

Ex-State Department Official: Israeli Military Gets Preferential Treatment on Abuses

UP NEXT

Police Tangle With Students in Texas and California as Wave of Campus Protest Against Gaza War Grows

UP NEXT

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Tent Compound Rises in Southern Gaza as Israel Prepares for Rafah Offensive

UP NEXT

A Far-Right German EU Lawmaker’s Aide Is Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China

UP NEXT

Israel’s Military Intelligence Chief Resigns Over Failure to Prevent Hamas Attack on Oct. 7

UP NEXT

Aid Approval Brings Ukraine Closer to Replenishing Troops Struggling to Hold Front Lines

UP NEXT

The US is Expected to Block Aid to an Israeli Military Unit. What is Leahy Law That It Would Cite?

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

11 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

12 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

12 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

13 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

Local Education /

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

14 hours ago

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

15 hours ago

Jose Ramirez Bout, Clovis Rodeo Are Center Stage in a Weekend Crammed With Events

16 hours ago

Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity But Decision’s Timing Is Unclear

16 hours ago

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

17 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation criminalizing adults who...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

Local Education /
11 hours ago

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

11 hours ago

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

11 hours ago

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

12 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

12 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

13 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

Local Education /
14 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend