Israel downs Gaza rocket, admonishes Jordan as Jerusalem tensions simmer

Flames and smoke rise throughout Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israel-Palestinian violence, within the southern Gaza Strip, April 19, 2022 . REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

JERUSALEM, April 18 (Reuters) – Israel shot down a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday, the Israeli army stated, the primary such assault in months as tensions over a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine drew offended pro-Palestinian rhetoric from Jordan and U.S. mediation efforts.

No Gaza faction claimed accountability for the launch, which adopted warnings by the dominant Hamas Islamists of reprisals for Israeli conduct round Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound.

Inside hours, Israeli air strikes hit camps utilized by Hamas and one other Gaza faction, Palestinian sources stated. The army stated one goal was an arms manufacturing web site. Nobody was damage.

Since Friday, Al Aqsa – additionally revered by Jews as a vestige of two historical temples – has seen confrontations between Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli riot police recalling violence that helped fan a Gaza warfare one yr in the past. learn extra

Palestinians accuse Israel of encroaching at Al Aqsa through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israel says Palestinian protesters search to disrupt Muslim prayer for political ends and to stop visits by Jews, who at the moment are celebrating Passover.

The tensions complicate Israel’s safety ties with Jordan, which is custodian of Al Aqsa and has a Palestinian majority.

Jordan’s King Abdullah instructed U.N. Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres that Israel’s Al Aqsa coverage “severely undermines” probabilities of it making peace with the Palestinians, Amman stated. Jordan additionally summoned Israel’s performing ambassador for a reprimand.

Escalating the rhetoric, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh instructed parliament: “I need to laud … these throwing their stones in any respect of these Zionists who desecrate Al Aqsa mosque with the safety of the Israeli occupation authorities.”

A number of passengers had been injured when Israeli buses they had been touring on to Jerusalem’s Outdated Metropolis had been stoned by Palestinians on Sunday, police stated, including that Al Aqsa protesters have been stockpiling rocks for assaults on Jewish guests and police.

Not less than 152 Palestinians and eight police had been injured round Al Aqsa throughout Friday’s confrontations, medics stated.

“I view with gravity the statements blaming Israel for the violence that we’re being subjected to. Some are encouraging stone-throwing,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated in video assertion issued after al-Khasawneh’s televised remarks.

“This serves as a prize for the inciters, chiefmost Hamas, who’re attempting to ignite violence right here in Jerusalem,” he stated.

In Washington, the State Division stated U.S. officers engaged in telephone calls with Israelis, Palestinians and Arab representatives over the weekend in an effort to stop an escalation of the Jerusalem tensions. learn extra

Extra reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Writing by Dan Williams; Enhancing by Sandra Maler and Himani Sarkar

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.