Sparks from Jerusalem rain on Gaza's tinderbox
The situation on the Israel-Gaza border is escalating with a barrage of rockets and mortar shells from Gaza and Israeli strikes on Hamas military positions.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — One day after Palestinian factions threatened to launch a new round of violence against Israel, 36 rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip at settlements in southern Israel April 24. On April 25, five more rockets were fired from Gaza toward southern Israel. Israel responded by striking a number of Hamas military positions inside the Gaza Strip.
The rocket attacks are widely seen as connected to the clashes in Jerusalem that erupted after police set up iron barricades near Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) in the city.
The clashes that broke out in Jerusalem in mid-April between Palestinians and Israeli police and extremist right-wing Jewish groups have led to one of the most violent rounds of escalation between Gaza and Israel in months after cross-border attacks had subsided.
In an April 24 press release, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Tor Wennesland said, “I am alarmed by the recent escalations in Jerusalem and around Gaza.” He called for ceasing the “provocative acts across Jerusalem” and urged an immediate cessation of “the indiscriminate launching of rockets towards Israeli population centers.”
