JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel hit Hamas targets inside the Gaza Strip overnight after terrorists fired a rocket into Israel for the first time in months. The attack represents the latest incident in a wave of terror attacks that could put Israel on the brink of another war.
After the rocket attack, Israel announced it had struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing site, saying the Iron Dome system knocked down the incoming missile. The confrontation follows weeks of Ramadan-inspired terror attacks inside Israel that left 14 dead, dozens more wounded and led to days of rioting on the Temple Mount.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Hamas of inciting the violence.
“I view with utmost severity the remarks accusing Israel of the violence directed against us, and there are those who are encouraging rock-throwing and the use of violence against the citizens of the state of Israel. This is unacceptable to us. This is a reward for the inciters, especially Hamas, which are trying to ignite violence in Jerusalem,” said Bennett.
Itamar Marcus of the Israel-based NGO Palestinian Media Watch told CBN News back in February that PA leaders called for popular resistance.
“We already warned about this in February…that the Palestinian Authority (was) looking toward this period and literally calling for violence,” says Marcus.
He continues, “Now what does that mean? Now that means all the PLO leadership, all the PA leadership are calling for violence of individuals with knives, with guns and especially focused on the Al Aksa Mosque. So, this is coming from the top.”
Marcus says Palestinian Authority leaders like the PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ top Islamic advisor have called for religious violence during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“Ramadan is not a month of laziness but rather a month of activity, of effort, and of hard work and as it also was in the life of the Prophet, a month of Jihad, conquest and victory,” said Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Supreme Shari’ah Judge. “Palestinians hear this. They say, oh, Allah expects me, Mohammad expects this of me. I’ve got to be violent. I’ve got to get the infidels. I’ve got to do conquest just like Mohammad.”
During this Passover holiday that coincided with Ramadan, Jews have been attacked in Jerusalem’s Old City, Palestinians have thrown rocks at buses carrying Jews to the Western Wall, and stockpiled stones on the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa mosque has been the epicenter of clashes with Israeli police.
On the official PA TV prayer for Ramadan, an imam declared, “Allah, liberate the Al-Aqsa mosque from the defilement of the evil Jews.”
“Palestinians are very religious people,“ says Marcus.“Ramadan is the most important month of the year. They’re being told by Palestinian religious leaders, ‘Allah expects you to fight against the Jews…the ‘evil Jews.’ Liberate Al-Aqsa from the defilement of the evil Jews.’ When Palestinians hear this, they feel in order to be a good Muslim, they’ve got to attack Israelis, supposedly in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
It’s all something that’s happening from the top. Palestinians wouldn’t be collecting stones if they weren’t be directed from their leadership to do this,” Marcus added.
He says a western audience needs to know what’s behind the violence.
“Let people see what Palestinians are telling their own people and let them realize this is not a spontaneous thing. It has nothing to do with Israel’s behavior. It’s all violence that the Palestinian Authority orchestrated.”
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