Violent Ramadan-Passover Riots in Israel
Last night, Palestinian rioters clashed with Israeli police inside the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Armed with sticks, stones and fireworks, masked young men barricaded themselves inside the mosque early Tuesday evening. When Israeli police tried to remove them, the youths began throwing stones and setting off the fireworks in protest.
According to Israeli authorities, the rioters “violently barricaded themselves inside [the mosque] using iron rods, closets and other objects,” adding that the Palestinians were “aiming to disrupt the order while desecrating the mosque.”
The barricaded individuals began to chant incitement and riot inside the mosque, and locked its doors from the inside with obstacles and fortifications, blocking the doorways.
—Israel Police
The violence triggered widespread Palestinian protests throughout Israel.
‘Inevitable confrontation’: Hamas’s officials said Israeli police committed an “unprecedented crime” by entering the al-Aqsa Mosque and called for Palestinians in the West Bank “to go en masse to the al-Aqsa Mosque to defend it.”
What is happening in the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque constitutes a serious threat to our sanctities, and the Palestinian people must be present with all its components for the inevitable confrontation in the coming days.
—Ziyad al-Nakhalah, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement
Rocket attacks: Hamas also launched 16 rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning, eight of which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system, while four others landed in “open areas.”
The Bible says: Israeli-Palestinian tensions have been flaring up as the Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan overlaps with the Jewish Passover. Brawls between these two groups gives organizations such as Hamas an excuse to provoke Israelis and incite even greater violence.
The Bible instructs us to keep a vigilant eye on Israel because what happens in Jerusalem has great implications, not only for the future of Israel but for the whole world. To understand more, read Jerusalem in Prophecy.
