Israel-Gaza Tension: Palestinians marched in anger on Friday as they buried the last of 10 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire a day earlier, even as a major confrontation followed the deadliest Israeli attack in two decades The chances were slim. Scuffles between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters broke out north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank after the funeral of a 22-year-old Palestinian, but calm prevailed in the disputed capital and the besieged Gaza Strip.
No serious incidents were reported on Friday, and the parties to the conflict showed no interest in escalating the situation. Thursday’s raid on the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp descended into a gun battle that left at least nine Palestinians dead, while a 10th was killed in clashes elsewhere. Gaza militants then fired rockets and Israel carried out airstrikes overnight – but exchanges were limited, following a familiar pattern that allows both sides to respond without provoking a major flare-up.
New tension has also arisen for America
The situation poses a challenge for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of his visit to the region on Sunday. He is likely to discuss the underlying causes of the conflict, which is continuing, the agenda of Israel’s new far-right government and the Palestinian Authority’s decision to halt security coordination with Israel in retaliation for the deadly raid. .
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the Biden administration has engaged closely with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days to “prevent further loss of civilian life and urge all sides to work together.” Here underlining the urgent need to “improve the security situation in the West Bank”. “We are certainly very concerned about the escalating cycle of violence in the West Bank as well as the rockets fired from Gaza,” Kirby said. “And of course, we condemn all acts that further escalate tensions.”
Israeli army is preparing for new attack
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister instructed the army to prepare for new strikes in the Gaza Strip “if necessary” – leaving open the possibility of a flare-up of violence. While residents of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank remained on the sidelines on Friday, midday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, often a catalyst for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, passed in relative peace.
At the 22-year-old’s funeral, crowds of Palestinians waved the flags of both Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority, and the militant Hamas that rules Gaza. In the streets of a town called al-Ram, masked Palestinians threw stones and fireworks at Israeli police, who responded with tear gas. But both Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes seemed limited enough to prevent it from escalating into a full-blown war. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
Palestinian rockets were fired toward southern Israel, while non-lethal Israeli airstrikes targeted targets in Gaza, such as training camps and an underground rocket-manufacturing site. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant claimed that the army had dealt a “hard blow” to Palestinian terrorists in Gaza and said that the army was “preparing to hit high-quality targets … until peace is restored among Israeli civilians”. Doesn’t happen.”
“In soul and blood, we will sacrifice to you”
Israeli police were out in force in Jerusalem as large numbers of Muslim worshipers gathered at the stone courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers and to express solidarity with those killed in the Jenin attack. Tensions over the holy site revered by Jews as the Temple Mount have led to violence in the past, including the bloody Gaza War in 2021. The site is considered the third holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism.
“In soul and blood, we will sacrifice to you,” shouted the Muslim worshipers. “Greetings Jenin, Greetings Gaza.” Iyad Shahar, a 45-year-old construction worker from Bethlehem who prays weekly at Al-Aqsa, said he was relieved to have a peaceful morning. “Thank God it was good and there were no problems after that damned day,” he said, referring to Thursday’s events.
Israel–Palestine conflict
Tensions have risen since Israel raided the West Bank last spring, following a series of Palestinian attacks. Jenin, which was an important militant stronghold during the 2000–2005 intifada and has re-emerged as one, has been the focus of several Israeli operations. Seven terrorists and a 61-year-old woman were among the dead in Thursday’s raid. About 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest in those areas since 2004, according to B’Tselem, a prominent Israeli rights group. Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis. According to a count by news agency The Associated Press, 30 Palestinians have been killed so far this year.
Israel says most of the dead were terrorists. But youths who resisted the intrusion and others who were not involved in the confrontation have also been killed. Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomat in the United Arab Emirates, warned that “the Israeli escalation in Jenin is dangerous and troubling and undermines international efforts to advance the priority of the peace agenda.” The UAE recognized Israel in 2020, along with Bahrain, which is silent on the escalation of violence.
The murder of a teenager created furore
News of those killed in Jenin and rockets fired overnight rang out from phones and radios in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, as young Palestinians turned up and women sold raisins. Ibrahim Salameh, 21, who smoked on the steps of Damascus Gate, said he had never been so scared. On Wednesday, he said, his teenage neighbor was killed as police entered the Shuafat refugee camp to demolish the house of one of the attackers. “Every day there is more and more fear, more tension,” he said. “Somehow I live with the idea that at any moment I can be shot.”
In the West Bank, Fatah declared a general strike and most shops in Palestinian cities remained closed. The PA announced on Thursday that it would end its security forces’ ties with Israel in a shared effort to contain Islamist militants. Previous threats have been short-lived, partly because of the benefits the authorities have received from the relationship, and also because of pressure from the US and Israel. The PA has limited control over enclaves scattered across the West Bank and almost none over militant strongholds such as the Jenin camp.
Israel says its raids are aimed at dismantling terrorist networks and thwarting attacks. The Palestinians say they are further cementing Israel’s 55-year open occupation of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians want those territories to form any eventual state. Israel has established dozens of settlements in the West Bank that house 500,000 people. Palestinians and most of the international community view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, even as talks to end the conflict have been deadlocked for more than a decade.
(with inputs from AP)
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