The current round of violence that erupted May 10 between Israel and Hamas has two unusual aspects.
The first is unprecedented. For the first time ever, a relatively minor terrorist organization such as Hamas presented a major military power such as Israel with an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of all its security forces from two Jerusalem flashpoints Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Hamas even set a specific time 6 p.m.
Israel obviously ignored the threat and went ahead with the annual Jerusalem Day celebrations. But at exactly 6 p.m., Hamas fired six rockets toward Jerusalem. One landed on the city’s outskirts, causing damage but no casualties. However, the sirens warning of the incoming rockets disrupted the annual Jewish flag parade through East Jerusalem, sending participants fleeing for shelter, while lawmakers were evacuated from the Knesset plenary where a special annual session was underway marking the Allied victory over the Nazis. The s
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Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, who has come under heavy criticism during the ongoing violence between Arabs and Jews across the country, issues his first statement on the situation.
“The attacks by Arabs against Jews, security forces, the symbols of Judaism and institutions of government are heartbreaking,” he says.
“This cannot be accepted and there is nothing to justify it just as there is no, and will not be any, justification for the terrible violence and the [Jewish] mob assault this evening [of an Arab bystander],” says the minister responsible for the police.
“Violence mixed with hatred should be condemned outright,” he says, calling on all Israelis to return home.
Over 1,050 rockets, mortar shells fired from Gaza Strip since Monday: Israel Defence Forces
TEL AVIV [Israel]: The Israeli Army on Wednesday said over 1,050 rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel since the violence broke out on Monday evening.
Israel defence forces (IDF) Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said the Iron Dome air defence system had an interception rate between 85 and 90 per cent of rockets heading toward populated areas, The Times of Israel reported.
In response, the IDF launched strikes on upwards of 500 targets in the Gaza Strip, aimed at Hamas personnel, weaponry and infrastructure, Zilberman says.
The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of early morning airstrikes early today on the Gaza Strip, destroying dozens of police and security installations, witnesses say.
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Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the Besheva group in Jerusalem, on March 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana calls for the release of a Jewish man who was arrested in connection with the deadly shooting of an Arab Israeli man during protests and riots in the central city of Lod on Monday night.
“The arrest of the shooter and his friends in Lod, who acted in self-defense, is terrible,” says Ohana, who is the minister responsible for policing.
“Law-abiding citizens carrying weapons are a force multiplier for the authorities for the immediate neutralization of threat and danger,” he says.
Israel kills 24 in Gaza as Netanyahu steps up provocations on Jerusalem Day
Israel launched air strikes against Gaza, the besieged Palestinian enclave, killing 24 people including children.
Militants had earlier fired a few rockets at southern Israel and the Jerusalem area, in a day characterized by massive violence against the Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel’s military announced it had beefed up its forces on its border with Gaza and was suspending a major drill to prepare for a possible escalation.
Palestinians evacuate a wounded man during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem s Old City Monday, May 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)