Jerusalem Violence Leads to Rockets, Air Strikes
Violent clashes over Jerusalem escalated dramatically on Monday with Gaza health officials saying at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli air strikes launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets close to Jerusalem.
Israel’s military said it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “red line” by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since a 2014 war.
The rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued late into the night, with Palestinians reporting loud explosions close to Gaza City and across the coastal strip. Shortly before midnight local time, Israel’s military said Palestinian militants had fired around 150 rockets into Israel, of which dozens were intercepted by its missile defence systems.
Istanbul: Protesters hold up their phones with the light on, alongside Palestine and Turkish national flags, during a demonstration against Israel in front of its consulate in Istanbul. AFP
ANKARA: Turkey’s foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks aimed at overcoming a rift over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul that led to bitter recriminations and a Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.
Mevlut Cavusoglu was due to hold talks in the kingdom after years of tensions between the two regional powers, which are also at odds over Turkish support for Qatar in a dispute with its Gulf neighbours and over President Tayyip Erdogan’s backing of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Airstrikes Kill 20, Including Nine Children, in Gaza
Tensions in Jerusalem have surged over recent days with many Palestinians outraged at Israeli attempts to carry out evictions of several families from the Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
Flames and smoke rise during Israeli air strikes in the southern Gaza Strip, May 11, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
World11/May/2021
Violence continued in Jerusalem on Monday following days of protests against Israeli attempts to evict Palestinians living in the Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood in the Israeli-annexed eastern part of the city.
The morning was marked by Israeli police storming the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and firing stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets after police reported that Palestinian protesters had been throwing stones onto a nearby roadway.
World reacts to Israeli forces raid on Al-Aqsa
Masjid al-Aqsa had been transformed into a deadly battlezone yesterday night. As worshippers performed Salaah, Israeli Occupation forces stormed the Masjid and rained down sound bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets on worshippers. (May 8, 2021) Abdus Sattar Ghazali 11 May 2021
More countries and organizations condemned Israel for attacking worshippers in Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and its evictions of Palestinians from their homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.
Palestinians had over the past couple of weeks staged a series of sit-ins in the area and parts of occupied East Jerusalem to denounce Israel’s attempt to forcefully expel residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to make way for Jewish settlements.
International calls for calm as Jerusalem violence escalates
11.05.2021
Reactions poured in from around the world after Monday’s violence sparked by days of unrest over the threatened evictions of Palestinians from their East Jerusalem homes bubbled over in clashes at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with Israel launching deadly air strikes on Gaza in response to a barrage of rockets fired by the Islamist movement Hamas.
The U.S., EU and other nations called for a lowering of tensions while several Arab nations, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman called on Israel to respect international law and the right of peaceful worship.