Israel

Over 300 hurt in Jerusalem following violent riots

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2021

After the end of the month of Ramadan and an anniversary celebration of Jerusalem day, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police resulted in over 300 injured. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reports over 200 hospitalized Palestinians and police report over 21 officer injuries, and that’s not including those who are caught in the crossfire.

Protests over the evictions of Palestinian families have continued over the weekend. The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood saw many of its tenants receive eviction notices for not paying rent. Chief Rabbi Avraham Ashkenazi and Chief Rabbi Meir Orbach bought the property in 1875 and kept it until the war in 1948. In the meantime, Palestinians moved in. But, a recent Jerusalem District decision will allow for a number of upcoming evictions.

As the protests gained more traction, incidents of violence also rose. Even Pope Francis saw it necessary to comment to encourage that Jerusalem “may be a place of encounter and not of violent clashes.”

I am following with particular concern the events in Jerusalem. I pray that it may be a place of encounter and not of violent clashes, a place of prayer and peace. Violence begets only violence. Enough of these clashes.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 9, 2021

Police tried to limit clashes by redirecting a march scheduled for Monday to celebrate Jerusalem Day. The celebration is an anniversary of the war that won Israel parts of the city. It has historically ended at the Temple Mount, a partially walled block that shares space with the al-Aqsa mosque. The protests began at this site over the weekend. Instead of marching through the Muslim quarter’s Damascus gate as planned, police redirected the march to avoid the gate completely. They also kept Jewish groups from entering the Temple Mount plaza.

Yet, police officers, Jewish Israelis, and Palestinians alike were injured by stones, fireworks, flash grenades and rubber bullets. Videos posted to social media have captured the chaos. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) reposted one such video and alleged that praying Muslims were mistaken for protestors.

Al-Aqsa is the 3rd holiest site in Islam, & people praying during the holiest days of the holy month of Ramadan have been beaten, gassed, shot, & killed by Israeli forces. They are denied medics & forced to use prayer mats as stretchers.

A place of peace desecrated by violence. https://t.co/S7kc74ceHE
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 10, 2021

Eventually, al-Aqsa was closed to the public to prevent more clashes. Once the mosque and the protestors around were cleared out, police allowed those over 40 to enter because they were less likely to start confrontations.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism

Related Topics:al-Aqsa Jerusalem Day Temple Mount

Israel

Iran’s nuclear facility ‘so deep underground’ airstrikes ‘likely couldn’t reach it’

Published

6 days ago

May 23, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Pacifism from global leaders and particularly the United States may have given Iran ample time to irreversibly become a nuclear power. The Associated Press describes a site that could prove devastation is within Iran’s reach:

“Near a peak of the Zagros Mountains in central Iran, workers are building a nuclear facility so deep in the earth that it is likely beyond the range of a last-ditch U.S. weapon designed to destroy such sites, according to experts and satellite imagery analyzed by The Associated Press.”

Iran has disregarded every single nuclear treaty and been producing uranium ‘close to weapons-grade levels’. The photos and videos described by the Associated Press show “Iran has been digging tunnels in the mountain near the Natanz nuclear site, which has come under repeated sabotage attacks amid Tehran’s standoff with the West over its atomic program.”

The Associated Press adds, since demise of the nuclear accord, Iran has said it is enriching uranium up to 60%, though inspectors recently discovered the country had produced uranium particles that were 83.7% pure. That is just a short step from reaching the 90% threshold of weapons-grade uranium.

In February, international inspectors estimated Iran’s stockpile was over 10 times what it was under the Obama-era deal, with enough enriched uranium to allow Tehran to make “several” nuclear bombs, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

As for President Joe Biden’s White House, and Israel’s prime minister, they have said they won’t allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon. “We believe diplomacy is the best way to achieve that goal, but the president has also been clear that we have not removed any option from the table,” the White House said in a statement to the AP.

As always, the Islamic Republic denies it is seeking nuclear weapons, though officials in Tehran now openly discuss their ability to pursue one.