Israel Hits Hamas Targets With The 1st Airstrikes Since Cease-Fire Deal

– June 16, 2021

Overnight, tensions between Israel and Hamas erupted into violence, posing a potential threat to the brief period of peace reached between the two just weeks ago.

Israeli jets struck two targets early Wednesday in Gaza. In a tweet, which included a video of the attack, the Israel Defense Forces said its “fighter jets struck Hamas military compounds last night, which were used as meeting sites for Hamas terror operatives. Hamas will bear the consequences for its actions.”

The IDF said it’s “prepared for any scenario, including a resumption of hostilities, in the face of continuing terror activities from the Gaza Strip.”

It’s unclear if there were any injuries or deaths tied to the airstrikes.

The IDF launched this attack evidently in retaliation for a series of incendiary balloons launched by Hamas hours earlier. The balloons caused at least 20 fires on Israel’s southern border.

Those balloons were in response to a flag march in Jerusalem earlier Tuesday during which Israeli nationalists marched through Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem waving flags, with some yelling, “Death to Arabs.”

Palestinian leaders, who saw the march as a provocation, called for a “Day of Rage.” Israeli police responded to Palestinian demonstrators by attempting to disperse them with rubber bullets.

The tit for tat throughout Tuesday upended the brief cease-fire reached May 21 after an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.

https://www.npr.org

Decrying normalization, Palestinians warn of Third Intifada

KHALED ABU TOAMEH – September 15, 2020

Palestinian protests against the normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain could lead to an intifada, Palestinian activists warned on Tuesday.

The warning came as Palestinians held protests against the “treacherous” agreements in some parts of the West Bank. The protests, organized by several Palestinian factions that are part of a new group called the Unified Leadership of the Popular Resistance, were held under the banner: “Normalization is a crime.”

“We are on the brink of a third intifada,” a Fatah activist told The Jerusalem Post. “The Palestinian people feels betrayed by the Arabs and will show the world that the Palestinian issue remains the central issue of all Arabs and Muslims.”

Other activists belonging to various Palestinian factions expressed hope that the Palestinian “day of rage” on the day of the signing ceremony of the normalization agreements at the White House would spark an intifada against Israel.

As part of the “day of rage,” Palestinians took to the streets in Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Hebron and other cities to voice their rejection of the peace accords between Israel and the two Gulf states.

The protesters held placards that read: “No to normalization with the occupation,” “We won’t allow the blood of our martyrs to be turned into a merchandise for trade,” and “Palestine will remain Arab.”

https://www.jpost.com