Third night of clashes in East Jerusalem: new rockets launched from the Gaza Strip

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May 10, 2021New clashes

on the

. The police have decided to ban access to the site for Jews on the day when Israel celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. Authorities have not yet decided whether to authorize a celebratory nationalistic parade, for fear that it could lead to a further escalation of violence. During the night the clashes resulted in at least 25 injuries and 23 arrests. Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel this morning, Israeli military radio reports. "A rocket apparently was intercepted by an Iron dome battery." Sirens rang all night in Sderot. Israel reacted to night rockets from the Strip by hitting a Hamas post south of Gaza. L'escalation of violence led to the closure of the transit crossing point in Erez and of the fishing grounds in front of Gaza.

The Israeli army has reported that it has hit Hamas "terrorist targets" in response to rocket fire from Gaza. According to what the Israel Defense Forces wrote on Twitter, "Hamas's goal was to attack Israeli civilians, ours was to fight terrorism". For this reason, the tweet continues, "in response to the fireballs and the launch of four rockets from Gaza against Israel" on Sunday, "Israeli army tanks attacked Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza". Previously, the Israelis had reported that two rockets had been fired at the city of Ashkelon from Gaza and that the air defense system had intercepted a third. And this morning the Israeli army denounced new rocket launches from Gaza.

At the root of the violence was the decision of the Israeli judiciary, which given the circumstances postponed the hearing, on the

(in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood)

- a story that in recent days it has triggered a series of riots in which hundreds of people have been injured. "In light of the current context, and at the request of the Attorney General, the hearing was canceled" reads a statement from the Ministry of Justice which announced its intention to set a new date "within the next thirty days". Tensions, which in these days, return to grow because

. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel "will forcefully and responsibly impose law and order in Jerusalem," while preserving freedom of worship for all religious. 

At least 205 Palestinians and 18 Israeli officers were injured, attracting international condemnation and calls for calm, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates. Similarly, two people were arrested and another detained for fighting at the A-Tur junction in East Jerusalem on charges of violence and use of a weapon. Similar situation in via Hagai, in Jerusalem, where two people were arrested for attacking agents. Other clashes between demonstrators and police, with arrests, took place in the Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm.

condemned the Israeli violations in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, calling on Israel to stop the provocations against international law and human rights. During a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Abdallah also reiterated Jordan's efforts to safeguard Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. The Jordanian king stressed that the two-state solution is the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieve a just and lasting peace. Amman denounced Israeli violations of Palestinian rights in Jerusalem, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli affairs officer in Amman to whom it was expressed "the condemnation of the Jordanian government of the continuing violations to the detriment of the holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa, the attacks on the esplanade on the faithful and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, especially Sheikh Jarrah ". 

"The Jordanian foreign ministry has summoned the Israeli chargé d'affaires to protest the actions of the Israeli police on the esplanade of mosques in East Jerusalem," reports Haaretz. The Israeli diplomatic representative, the newspaper added, replied that Israel protects freedom of expression and religion and must prevent the violation of the right of Jews to pray at the Western Wall. Meanwhile, in Amman, the crowd calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.