What is known about the situation around East Jerusalem

What we known about the situation around East Jerusalem

Ordo News EditorMay 12, 2021Last Updated: May 12, 2021

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US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Palestinian radicals from the Gaza Strip fired more than 200 rockets at Israel. The military nations responded by hitting 140 military targets. The Israel Defense Forces begins conscription of 5,000 reserve servicemen due to the sharp aggravation of the situation around the Gaza Strip.

On the eve of the escalation of the conflict, there were clashes in East Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinians over the eviction of Arab residents from the Sheikh Jarrah area.

The main thing about the escalation of the conflict is in the ORDO NEWS material.

Tensions in East Jerusalem began to rise in mid-April. On May 7, clashes began between the Israeli border police and Palestinians at the Temple Mount (the area in the southeastern part of the Old City of Jerusalem, where the third most important shrine of Islam - the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located) and in the Sheikh Jarrah region, where, in accordance with the decision At the Israeli court, the security forces are carrying out the eviction of several Arab families.
The main clashes on May 7 in the evening and on the night of May 8 took place near the Al-Aqsa mosque, where believers gathered for prayer during the Muslim fast in Ramadan. Israeli security forces fired rubber bullets at parishioners, as well as stun grenades and tear gas, then over 200 police officers stormed the courtyards of the mosque and covered prayer halls, forcing the believers to leave Al-Aqsa.
Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported on May 10 arrests of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah area.
In addition, the Israeli authorities, in response to ongoing attacks from the Gaza Strip, have decided from 9 May to completely close the fishing area off its coast to Palestinian sailors until further notice. On May 10, the Israeli military also decided to close, until further notice, the Erez checkpoint on the border between the sector and the Jewish state. Israel has sent additional combat units to the border with the Gaza Strip.
On May 10, massive rocket attacks began on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Palestinian radicals from the sector fired at least 150 rockets into Israel territory in the evening, in response the Israel Defense Forces launched the first wave of attacks on the targets of radicals in the Palestinian enclave.
Jerusalem Day was celebrated in Israel on May 10, commemorating the anniversary of the annexation of the eastern part of the city after the 1967 Six Day War. In the afternoon, it was reported that the situation on the Temple Mount returned to normal, but in the evening clashes near the Al-Aqsa mosque resumed. On the night of May 11, Israeli law enforcement officials forcefully expelled worshipers.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, on the night of May 11, Palestinian radicals from the Gaza Strip fired more than 200 rockets overnight. Dozens of people were injured. The Israeli military responded by hitting 140 military targets on the territory of the coastal Palestinian enclave, and also eliminated about 15 operatives of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.
During the night in Jerusalem, about 100 violators were detained. The Israeli police said that “they are ready to act in current conditions with increased forces and will toughly respond to any attempts to disrupt public order.” Populations in bombed cities were temporarily housed in bomb shelters.
As reported by Arab TV channels, as a result of retaliatory rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip from Israel, 26 people, including nine children, were killed and over 120 were injured. The agency Reuters, in turn, citing sources reported on at least two dead Israelis.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as of 11 May, the number of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli law enforcement officials in East Jerusalem and the West Bank rose to 714.
Israel has closed access to the Gaza Strip for foreign journalists.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to condemn the radical movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, for continuing rocket attacks on Israeli cities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied allegations of excessive use of force. He said the police “are acting responsibly in Jerusalem, ensuring order and the rule of law, as well as freedom of religion.” Netanyahu also announced Israel’s intention to increase the “force and frequency” of strikes on the Gaza Strip.
In turn, Hamas called on the Arab countries to terminate the peace agreements with Israel. The organization also said that “enemy Israel should reconsider its calculations.” At the same time, according to Hamas, the Israeli military is striking “residential buildings, women and children in the Gaza Strip,” so the movement “will use all its might to respond with blow for blow” in confrontation with the Jewish state. Hamas called on all Palestinians, in Israel and in the West Bank, to continue to confront Israeli law enforcement officials.

International reaction

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the increase in tension was fueled by the eviction of Arab residents from their original place of residence - the Sheikh Jarrah region, the promotion of plans to build 540 residential buildings for settlers in the Har Homa settlement, as well as the killing of two Palestinians at a checkpoint in the Jenin area. Moscow stated that it reaffirms its “principled and consistent position” with respect to Israeli actions and considers the expropriation of land and property located on it, as well as the establishment of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, as measures without legal force.
The members of the “quartet” on the Middle East settlement (Russia, the United States, the UN, the European Union) called on the Israeli authorities to show restraint and abandon steps that threaten to further aggravate the situation in eastern Jerusalem.
At the same time, the United States condemned the latest rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and supported the right of the Jewish state to self-defense.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an end to the eviction of Palestinians.
On May 10, the UN Security Council discussed the situation in East Jerusalem. Discussions will remain closed.
Hundreds of demonstrators took part in a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Amman. Activists from the left and Islamist organizations condemned the actions of the Israeli authorities against the Arab residents of East Jerusalem and demanded to expel the Israeli ambassador.
Arab countries, as well as Turkey, came out in support of Palestine, strongly condemning Israel. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Jerusalem, calling Israeli police measures in the Temple Mount area “barbaric attacks on worshipers.” The organization also appealed to the international community to “urgently intervene in the situation and put pressure on Israel, making it responsible for the escalation” of the conflict.
Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ahmed Abu al-Gheit called on the Israeli authorities to account for the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Arab League called the current aggravation of the situation dangerous.