This is how wars can start
The recent string of events leading to greater clashes in Jerusalem and rocket fire from Gaza is part of the cycle that has led to conflicts in the past.
The recent Jerusalem escalation coincided with Ramadan and TikTok videos of Orthodox Jews being attacked. Numerous arrests were made, but that didn’t calm tensions. A massive far-right rally this past Thursday then led to further tensions, including early-Saturday morning rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
It is important to understand that this timeline of events is similar to how tensions grew in 2014 as well as other cycles of violence that led to tensions in Gaza and Jerusalem – for example the 2017 installation of temporary metal detectors in the Old City of Jerusalem. However, there is a central difference. The July 2017 events and the 2014 war began with terror attacks – specifically, a July 14, 2017 terror attack by a gunman on the Temple Mount, and the June 12, 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in the West Bank.
In both cases, Israel responded. In the 2014 incident, a right-wing march led to the murder of Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir on July 2, resulting in the Jerusalem clashes and riots.
The “gates of hell” comments from Hamas, which are rhetoric again being used by Palestinian factions, are often a prelude to rising attacks. Similar comments have been heard: On June 30, 2014, and in November 2012.
In December 2017, Hamas said the decision of then-President Donald Trump’s administration to move the embassy to Jerusalem would open the gates of hell. The 2012 comments came after Israel killed Ahmed al-Jabari, a senior Hamas commander.
It is not often remembered now, but the Hamas comments of December 2017 did lead to rising tensions that ultimately culminated with the killing of 58 Palestinians in Gaza during violent protests and riots along the border, as the US moved its embassy in May 2018.
The 2014 cycle of violence culminated
launches were detected as coming from the Gaza Strip and falling near the town of Kissufim in the Eshkol Regional Council. The IDF’s Iron Dome missile-defense system intercepted one of them; the other two fell in open areas near the border fence.
Later on Friday night, at around 1:50 a.m., additional sirens were heard at Alumim, Be’eri, Kfar Maimon and Tushiya, in the Sdot Negev and Eshkol regional councils.
Minutes later, more sirens were heard in Mivtahim, Amioz, Yesha, Nir Yitzhak, Tzohar, and Ohad, all in the Eshkol Regional Council.
Just before Israel’s top security officials convened with the prime minister for a situation assessment meeting, the Mujahideen Brigades in Gaza launched test rockets toward the sea, as part of a drill commemorating 20 years since their establishment.
The IDF briefly instructed citizens living in the border communities to avoid working in the fields adjacent to the fence, to halt the activities of the education system and to prevent large gatherings of people. The restrictions were lifted on Saturday morning.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid commented on the events, saying: “The residents of the border communities near Gaza had a hard night. The State of Israel can’t allow them to go back to a reality of fear and terror.
“Hamas must pay a heavy price for breaking the quiet,” he said. “I send my support to the residents of the [Gaza] envelope.
“Thirty-six rockets. Hamas in the South, Hezbollah in the North, and Iran are all seeing the weakness of our paralyzed government,” he added.
The US State Department tweeted: “We condemn the rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. There is no justification for such attacks.”
Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said: “The terrorists in Gaza are going wild with their rockets against the residents of the South; Arab rioters are lynching Jews in the heart of our capital Jerusalem.
“This is not why we established a state,” he said.
“The Israeli government needs to use all the tools it has to provide its citizens with security and safety.” • riots in Jerusalem on Saturday evening, police commissioner Kobi Shabtai told reporters that the Israel Police was carrying out different tactics in order to gain control of the riots waging throughout the city.
He noted that while “we can’t be everywhere... we will not allow the continuing violence” and said that he instructed “a reinforcement of hundreds of officers to be sent to dozens of areas in the city.”
There were also clashes breaking out between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and its surroundings on Friday night, a day after there were violent encounters between Jews and Arabs near the Old City.
Clashes broke out between Muslim worshipers and police as thousands left al-Aqsa Mosque after evening prayers on Friday.
Officers fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd after objects were thrown at the security forces.
On Thursday evening, dozens were injured and arrested as Jewish extremists affiliated with the Jewish far-right organization Lehava marched into east Jerusalem, chanting “Death to Arabs.”
Lehava announced on Wednesday that it was planning a march while the Ramadan prayers at the Temple Mount were still underway, to protest the violence exhibited towards Jews over the last week.
This came after a TikTok video circulated on social media showing an Arab teenager slapping a Jewish teenager on the Light Rail in Jerusalem
for no apparent reason.
Violent riots erupted in many parts of the city, as the Police struggled to reach all reports of clashes between Arabs, Jews and security forces.
On Saturday evening, a propeace protest was held in the capital to try and calm the situation.
Hundreds of people attended the protest initiative organized by the NGO Peace Now at Jerusalem’s Zion Square in response to what they called the “racist ideology” being spread across the city these past few days.
Protesters were heard chanting: “no such thing as democracy with occupation” and “Jerusalem has no place for Lehava,” calling on Jews and Arabs to unite in the face of extremist ideology that has recently resurfaced in Israeli discourse – especially after Itamar Ben-Gvir, an active supporter of Rabbi Meir Kahane, entered Israeli politics.
“I’m afraid for my city,” one protester told The Jerusalem Post. “I would like to grow my children in an equal and tolerant Jerusalem.”
She noted that in her view, “racist outbursts like this one are usually connected to incitement carried out by leaders and racists,” adding that she hopes the pluralistic community in the city is strong enough to oppose these concerning trends.
Many protesters told the Post they were planning on joining the protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taking place at the same time on Balfour Street.
On Friday, the US Embassy in Jerusalem expressed concern over the clashes in Jerusalem in recent days.
“We hope all responsible voices will promote an end to incitement, a return to calm, and respect for the safety and dignity of everyone in Jerusalem,” read the embassy statement.
EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Peter Stano said “the EU is deeply concerned by... violent clashes in Jerusalem. These latest incidents follow several nights of tension and violence in Jerusalem, as well as in Jaffa earlier [last] week.”
Two young Arab men attacked Rabbi Eliahu Mali and Moshe Shandovitz of the Shirat Moshe Yeshiva in Jaffa last week.
“The EU calls for calm and an immediate lowering of tensions, and for restraint and responsibility to be shown by all, in particular by community leaders and officials at this sensitive time,” Stano said. “Incitement and violence have to be rejected by all.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi only spoke out against violence by Jews against Arabs, and implied violence against Jews by Arabs is Israel’s fault.
“We strongly condemn the racist attacks on Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem and urge prompt international action to protect Jerusalemites,” Safadi tweeted. “As the occupying power under international law, Israel is responsible for stopping these attacks and for the dangerous consequences of failing to do so.”
Sarah Ben-Nun and Lahav Harkov contributed to this report. •
said last week that Israel is hopeful its voice will be heard.
“We don’t think [a return to the Iran deal is] a done deal yet. We’re going [to Washington] because we’re going to try to influence the process,” he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi postponed his trip to Washington, due to the escalation of rocket-fire from Gaza over the weekend. Kohavi was supposed to meet top US defense officials such as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. Cohen and Ben-Shabbat are expected to continue as planned. •