Photos of Palestinian youth smiling while being arrested is trending on social media all over the world but there also lies a feeling of fear among the people of Palestine. A few years back a lady from Palestine said, “We wear the Hijab when we sleep in the night, in case we get bombed or harmed by any means; we want to be covered when they find our bodies.”
Recently, hundreds of Palestinians have met with injury in the clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers in and around the holy place of Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem where the Police attacked the worshippers with stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
For weeks now, Palestinian protesters and the Israeli police have clashed on a daily basis in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
On Friday night, more than 200 people were hurt in clashes between police and Palestinians on the esplanade where around ten thousand worshippers were gathered for the last Friday prayers of Ramadan. On Saturday, clashes in a number of east Jerusalem neighborhoods left more than 100 people injured, said the Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization.
Jerusalem has witnessed violent confrontations between Jews and Arabs for 100 years. It also stands as one of the most stridently contested cities on the planet. Speaking about the latest clashes, they began a month ago with an Israel move to block some Palestinian gatherings at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, where the Muslims fast from dawn to dust.
Though those restrictions were later eased, stiffness over a plan to remove dozens of Palestinians from an east Jerusalem neighborhood continued to raise confrontations.
Later Gaza’s Hamas rulers had threatened to strike after hundreds of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem on Monday.
Between 23 and 24 April, 2021 36 rockets were fired towards Israel from Gaza, six of which were intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces’ Iron Dome defense system. Although there were no injuries, the property was damaged in several communities in Israel.
Again On 10 May 2021 Hamas took credit for firing 7 rockets at Jerusalem but this time too there found no casualties.
Further, Israel launched airstrikes against militant targets in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said 20 people, including children, had died in the strikes.
As hundreds of people were injured and many of them were in critical condition and had to be hospitalized, the state of Israel is facing mounting international criticism for its uncoordinated actions at the site, predominantly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“When I close my eyes at night,
the war I just begun to fight,
visions of lights disappear,
and nightmares reappear,
shrinking with fear,
that my screams no one will hear,
and all do god is near,
the devil is right here.”
~ Jose Murguia
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