Latest Updates:
- After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire, negotiated by Egypt, that started early Friday, 2 AM Jerusalem time. US President Joe Biden “commended” Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for ending hostilities.
- Gaza death reached at least 232, including 65 children, and 1,760 injured due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes; 50,000 families have been displaced, 24 health facilities suffered partial or complete damage, Gaza Ministry of Health reports.
Israel attacks worshipers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, again
Israeli forces are reportedly attacking worshipers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, following a massive demonstration after Friday prayers during which Palestinians celebrated victory after a Gaza ceasefire.
Local media is reporting that Israeli forces are firing tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets.
Palestinians celebrate Gaza ceasefire
Palestinians across Gaza and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem took to the streets in celebration in the early hours of Friday morning, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas authorities in Gaza went into effect at 2am.
The ceasefire, which was brokered by Egypt and said to be “mutual” by both Israeli and Hamas officials, came after 11 days of Israeli bombardments that killed at least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children in Gaza.
On the Israeli side, 12 people including two children died as a result of Hamas rocket fire from Gaza.
Leading up to the 2am ceasefire, Israeli bombardments on sites in the Gaza Strip continued, while the military wings of Islamic Jihad and Hamas fired rockets into Israel.
But once the ceasefire officially took effect at 2am, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza poured into the streets in celebration of an end to the Israeli offensive — the fourth of its kind since 2009.
Al Jazeera reported that the start of the ceasefire was being treated like “the first day of Eid” in Gaza, as Gazans spent this year’s Eid al-Fitr holidays (May 13-15) under heavy bombardment.
Al Jazeera reporter Youmna al-Sayed also said that displaced families were already returning to their homes from UN-run schools where they had been seeking shelter.
Similar scenes unfolded across Jerusalem and the West Bank, as videos flooded social media showing thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territory celebrating what they were calling a major victory for the Palestinian resistance, and an end to the killing of their people in Gaza.
Previous Reports:
- Live blog: Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire after 11 days of hostilities (May 20, 2021)
- Live blog: Gaza health sector in dire condition following Israeli attacks (May 19, 2021)
- Live blog: Palestinians stage general strike across historic Palestine (May 18, 2021)
- Live blog: Gaza death toll hits 200; Biden admin continues to block UN call for ceasefire (May 17, 2021)
- Live blog: Israel has killed 58 Palestinian children in one week of airstrikes on Gaza (May 16, 2021)
- Live blog: Israeli airstrikes target international media offices, civilian homes in Gaza (May 15, 2021)
- Live blog: U.S. blocks UN Security Council statement on conflict, and 8 Palestinians reported dead in West Bank protests (May 14, 2021)
- Live blog: Israel threatening ground invasion in Gaza, mobilizes army to police Palestinian citizens (May 13, 2021)
- Live blog: Israel kills two Palestinians in West Bank raids, Gaza death toll rises as airstrikes continue (May 12, 2021)
- Live blog: Israel levels apartment buildings, dozens dead in Gaza as Netanyahu government vows to step up strikes (May 11, 2021)
- Israel kills 20 Palestinians in Gaza, injures hundreds in Jerusalem as Al-Aqsa tensions flare (May 10, 2021)
- Hundreds injured as Israeli forces attack Palestinian worshipers in Jerusalem (May 8, 2021)
When it comes to these zionists only their religion, and their Holy places, are sacred, and anyone pointing to the crimes is anti semitic. They have no hesitation attacking Holy place belonging to Christians and Muslims, and their terrorists have destroyed Mosques and Churches in Israel, and get away with it. Their arrogance and acting like they are above all laws is disgusting to say the least.
How long will Israel let its churches and mosques burn?
“This latest desecration is the 18th arson attack on a church or mosque over the past four years. These attacks are part of a wider range of anti-Christian and anti-Islamic actions, including spray-painting of hate graffiti on mosques and churches; spitting at Christian priests, monks and friars in Jerusalem; and the issuing of edicts by assorted rabbis against “Gentiles.”
These attacks have generally been attributed to extremist Jews from West Bank settlements and ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students in Jerusalem. In the Tabgha case, Israeli police initially arrested 16 young people, all religious Jewish seminary students from West Bank settlements, but released them shortly thereafter.
Not a single case of the 18 arson attacks of the past four years has been solved, none of the attackers identified, and no one charged with any crime. If history is any guide, this pattern of impunity seems likely to hold true for this latest arson at Tabgha, as well.
While Israeli politicians across the mainstream political spectrum, including the president and prime minister, condemned the incident at Tabgha, and while there are laws in place against damaging holy sites in Israel, in reality, little more than lip service is paid to enforcing these laws and prosecuting the perpetrators.
In view of the discrepancy between political pronouncements and the lack of policing and prosecution, the Haaretz editorial voiced skepticism of the government’s will to hold the perpetrators accountable.” National Catholic Reporter on Haaretz article
By the way, you know those Israeli M109 howitzers firing on Gaza?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXR21PYcWg
American made.
A reminder:
Relationships between the three monotheistic faiths in Palestine before the Zionists began to arrive:
“Over the centuries relations between the three monotheistic faiths had become especially harmonious in Palestine. This was due largely to the reverence Islam held for the Hebrew prophets and the tradition of Christian pilgrimages to biblical sites. The Arabic inscription over Jaffa Gate (the western entrance to Old Jerusalem) reads:’There is no Lord but God and Abraham is his friend’ and throughout the country there were Muslim mosques and shrines honoring the Hebrew patriarchs. Palestinian Muslims celebrated religious festivals honoring the Jewish prophets and often gave Hebrew first names to their children. In order to quell inter-Christian rivalry over access to the Holy Sepulchre, Saladin initiated what is now a 800 year tradition of entrusting its keys to a Muslim family. (Harvard Prof. Khalidi, Before Their Diaspora, p. 32)
I have no earthly ideas as to why the Christian and Muslim religious communities around the world don’t yell from the top of their steeples and minarets… while these bat- **** crazies torching and desecrating holy places and homes and people are held completely immune from prosecution. There is no respect nor accountability, and that includes the IOF and the other nuts who protect them and allow the violence and racism to go on and on.