Israel deploys tear gas drones against al-Aqsa worshippers

Rocket fire from Gaza was reported late Friday after Israeli police used violent force against Palestinian worshippers following prayers at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque earlier in the day.

Israeli violence against Palestinians on the third Friday of Ramadan again threatened to spill over into Gaza.

There was a flurry of diplomacy following Israel’s attack on the holy site last week to try to prevent a full-scale confrontation in Gaza like the one that devastated the territory in May last year.

Those 11 days of heavy rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli bombardment of the territory was precipitated in large part by violence against Ramadan worshippers at al-Aqsa.

The situation remained precarious during the week as Israeli Jewish nationalists marched through Jerusalem on Wednesday chanting anti-Palestinian slogans such as “death to the Arabs.”

Later that evening, a rocket was fired from Gaza, landing in an open area near Sderot in southern Israel. Israel carried out air raids on Gaza early Thursday, which were followed by additional rocket and gunfire from the besieged territory.

No serious injuries were reported from Gaza or Israel.

Both Hamas, which oversees Gaza’s internal affairs, and Naftali Bennett, Israel’s prime minister, appear to be trying to avoid another major escalation.

However, Hamas officials reportedly told international mediators that continued violations at al-Aqsa could set off another military confrontation with Israel.

The resistance group has repeatedly called for mass Palestinian mobilization in defense of al-Aqsa and Jerusalem in recent days.

Palestinians confronted Israeli riot police stationed around the mosque complex in Jerusalem on Friday by throwing stones and setting off fireworks following dawn prayers.

Israeli police fired tear gas canisters, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades towards Palestinians inside the complex but did not raid or fire into al-Aqsa mosque as they did last Friday.

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-deploys-tear-gas-drones-against-al-aqsa-worshippers