War ends, problems remain
As a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants holds, attention has shifted from the 11-day conflict to the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, potential political fallout for Israel’s embattled prime minister, and renewed tensions in Jerusalem.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said ‘‘riots’’ broke out yesterday following Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, involving hundreds of Palestinians who threw rocks and petrol bombs at police officers. He said they were dispersed by Israeli police, and 16 of the demonstrators were arrested. Twenty-one protesters were injured, according to Mohammad Fityani, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, in what Palestinians called a police raid on the holy site.
Similar confrontations, in which Israeli forces shot rubber bullets at crowds of stonehurling Palestinians, occurred in cities throughout the West Bank.
Flare-ups around the sacred compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, known as the Temple Mount by Jews and as the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, triggered the Israel-Hamas conflict 12 days ago.
‘‘The Israeli government, by continuing its policy of provocation, attacks and incursions, is challenging international efforts that have been made to reach a calm, and stop the violence and escalation in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, and to
stop the aggression on Gaza,’’ said a statement from the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
With the coming of a new dawn, traffic and street vendors returned to Gaza’s streets. Municipal workers began removing rubble and opening roads.
Tens of thousands of Gazans who had weathered the fighting in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency or at the houses of friends or relatives began returning home. Festive Eid alFitr
meals that had been postponed due to the fighting were held.
As bulldozers pushed sand into shell and missile craters, some Gazans returned to their devastated neighbourhoods for the first time since the start of the confrontation. They assessed the destruction while celebrating what many characterised as a victory of endurance over a more powerful foe.
‘‘We are still here,’’ said Zaid Rakhawi, 69, standing in front of a mound of rubble that had been the 14-storey Shorouq Tower.
‘‘We resisted.’’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement that during six calls with United States President Joe Biden over the past week, the White House had expressed ‘‘clear, unequivocal and unwavering support’’ for Israel’s right of self-defence’’.
But Netanyahu came under fire at home, drawing criticism from far-right politicians who have previously supported him. They lambasted the ceasefire, as did many members of his political base in communities close to the Gaza Strip.
Before the conflict erupted, Netanyahu was days, perhaps hours, away from being ousted. A coalition of opposition parties was reportedly close to announcing that it had secured a bare majority of parliamentary votes to form a new government, when Hamas fired missiles at Jerusalem. The conflict derailed that effort, increasing the likelihood that Israel will now have to hold its fifth national election in two years.
Biden, along with other world leaders, has pledged support for reconstruction in Gaza, where Israeli air strikes aimed at Hamas have damaged electricity and water systems. Aid agencies say a humanitarian crisis is brewing.
Biden said aid would be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority ‘‘in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal’’. The US considers Hamas a terrorist group and avoids direct contact.
Riad al-Malki, the Palestinians’ top diplomat, said the ceasefire was welcome but ‘‘not enough’’ because it did not address the ‘‘core issue’’ that started the violence – the actions of Israeli authorities at al-Aqsa Mosque, and the potential eviction of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
The ceasefire agreement also did not meet Israeli demands for the return of the bodies of soldiers captured by Hamas in 2014 and two Israeli civilians being held by the group, said Amos Yadlin, a former deputy commander of the Israeli air force.