After a spate of rockets were fired from the region governed by the Islamist Hamas organisation in recent days, Israel said on Saturday that it will block its gate to tens of thousands of Gaza workers.
Over the last week, Palestinians have been hurling stones and fireworks at a key Jerusalem holy site, while Israeli police have entered the area and fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades.
The bloodshed in Jerusalem, as well as a series of fatal strikes within Israel and raids across the occupied West Bank, has fueled worries of another conflict between Israel and Hamas, akin to the one that erupted last year in similar circumstances.
Late Friday, Palestinian terrorists fired two rockets, one of which landed in an open area within Israel and the other in Gaza. The rocket that missed its target injured two Gaza civilians. Officials from the Department of Health had no immediate reaction. Early Saturday, another missile was fired from Gaza, although the military did not disclose where it landed. There were no injuries or property damage reported.
The rocket attack comes as tensions around the Temple Mount rise, with dozens of Palestinians injured and hundreds jailed after violent clashes with Israeli police. Following Friday morning services at the holy site, protestors began throwing stones at security officers, who responded by firing shock grenades from a police drone as a riot control technique.
A total of 57 Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, including one man who was critically injured and was airlifted to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center.
While Palestinians claim he was shot in the neck by police with sponge bullets, police said he fell over after hurling rocks at them. There was ‘no evidence’ that the damage was caused by live ammo, as per the hospital.
Israeli authorities believe Hamas is not interested in any conflict, they are concerned that the violence in Jerusalem may spiral out of control, leading to other terror organisations in the Gaza Strip shooting rockets into Israel, pulling the nation into yet another conflict.
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