Palestine and Israel have exchanged fire for a second time this week, with Palestinian militants firing two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip late Wed. and early Thurs., to which Israel responded with airstrikes. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas compound.
This comes after Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Tues., reportedly targeting a Hamas manufacturing site, after the military on Mon. said they intercepted a rocket fired from the region. These were the first such strikes in several months.
This is but the latest in a series of unprovoked attacks by Israeli occupation forces, who appear bent on turning the holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem and Gaza into a battlefield. Unfortunately, violence at the mosque and in Gaza is likely only just beginning, and Israel risks sparking a third Intifada.
Israel has responded accordingly to provocations coming from Palestinians in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. This is a complex and sensitive time, but Israel is determined to guarantee the security of its citizens and public order, while making efforts to allow freedom of worship to everyone on the Temple Mount.