Damascus Gate
While the Israel-Palestine conflicts date back by almost a century, recent tensions have flared in the last few weeks.
On April 12, Israeli forces blocked off access to the Damascus Gate plaza in the Old City, Jerusalem which is an important celebratory junction during the holy month of Ramadan.
On May 6, Israeli nationalists also organised the Jerusalem Day March that marks the capture of East Jerusalem.
Sheikh Jarrah
Palestinian families staying in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem (West Bank) are being forcefully displaced by Israeli settlers. This is being done with full support and armed protection of the Israeli forces.
By multiple rulings over the years, the Israeli Supreme Court has enabled the Israeli forces to carry this out.
This also sparked widespread Palestinian protests which the Israeli forces tried to contain by spraying of large quantities of skunk water (noxious water) on the protesters.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
On May 7, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest destination for the Islam community, was stormed by the Israeli forces with stun grenades, tear gas & rubber bullets as the worshippers gathered for prayer.
The Hamas* then released an ultimatum. If the Israeli forces did not retreat back from the Al-Aqsa Mosque and stop the ‘illegal eviction’ of Palestinian families, they will retaliate.
*Hamas - Palestinian nationalist ‘militant’ governing authority of the Gaza Strip
Hamas’ rockets and the Israeli Iron Dome
On May 10, 2021, Hamas started firing rockets towards Israel that landed in Southern Israel and Tel Aviv. Israel’s Iron Dome* has been defending the regions by intercepting these rockets.
*Iron Dome is Israel’s aerial defense system used to intercept incoming short-range rockets. This system has been in place for a decade developed with alleged financial & technical backing from the US.
Air strikes by Israel in Gaza
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were quick to retaliate with airstrikes on the Hamas governed Gaza Strip.
As of May 15, after 5 days of continuous violence, Gaza has reported at least 126 deaths in the airstrikes while 7 Israelis have died due to the rockets.
Israel is now reported to be threatening a ground attack on the Gaza strip.
Israeli military accused of deception
On Friday, May 14, the Israeli military put out a statement to the media: “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.”
This statement raised fears that Israel had launched a ground invasion of Gaza, a highly feared scenario that would mark the bloodiest escalation of this week’s clashes.
However, they issued a clarification later that there were no Israeli troops inside of Gaza currently but by then many media houses worldwide had already picked up on the news.
Gaza Tower housing AP, Al-Jazeera collapses in an air strike
On May 15, a 12 storey Gaza tower block, housing media offices of the US-based Associated Press & Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, was shot down by Israeli missiles. The owner of the building was warned in advance and the building was evacuated in time.
AP released a statement that this was incredibly disturbing. “We have narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life.”
Nakba Day
May 15 marked Nakba Day, meaning catastrophe. This day commemorates the permanent displacement of a majority of Palestinian people when the state of Israel was created 73 years ago. 7 Lakh+ Palestinians are believed to have been displaced in an ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaign by the Israeli settlers.
Marking this day, people in several cities of Paris, Madrid, Iraq, etc joined the protest in support of the Palestinians.
Peace efforts
On Friday, May 14, Israel turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year truce that Gaza’s ruling organisation, Hamas had accepted.
The UNSC is set to meet in this regard on Sunday, May 16. US diplomat Hady Amr has arrived in the region to de-escalate the conflict.
Saudi Arabia has called a virtual summit of foreign ministers of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss Israel’s aggression in Palestinian territory.
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