Rockets fired from Gaza raise tension as Jews begin week-long Passover

JERUSALEM: Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens in southern Israel, as violence erupted for the second day in a row during a sensitive period of overlapping holidays.

The Israeli military said seven rockets launched from the Gaza Strip all exploded in midair. No group claimed responsibility for the barrage.

The barrage came after another tense night at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the Al Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli police clashed with worshippers attempting to stay overnight.

Since Ramadan began, scores of Muslims have repeatedly tried to stay overnight in the mosque, a practice that is typically permitted only during the last 10 days of the monthlong holiday. Israeli police have entered nightly to evict the worshippers, but on Tuesday the scene erupted in violence.

Worshippers threw stones and firecrackers at police, who responded with beatings that left dozens bloody and the arrest of hundreds.

No arrests

On Wednesday, the Israeli police made no arrests but did detain and question some Palestinians, a spokesperson said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it was not allowed into the compound Wednesday, but dozens were injured from from beatings, rubber bullets and stun grenades, including an ambulance driver.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz said protests on Wednesday night drew hundreds in communities across Israel’s north, home to many of Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who make up one-fifth of its 9.6 million people. Police said they arrested five protesters in the large town of Um al-Fahm.

The rocket fire raised fears of a wider conflagration as Jews began the week-long Passover holiday, hundreds of Christians in the Old City gathered for Holy Thursday at the Holy Sepulchre to mark the Last Supper, and Muslims marked the Ramadan holy month.

Al Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam and stands on a hilltop. Conflicting claims over it have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war two years ago between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.

Muslim leaders around the Middle East condemned the Israeli actions in Al-Aqsa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country recently reconciled with Israel and restored full diplomatic ties, condemned the violence in a television interview late Wednesday.

“Interventions and threats against the historical status and spirituality of Al Aqsa Mosque as well as the Palestinians’ right to life and religious beliefs must come to an end,” Erdogan told Turkey’s 24 TV. “We will continue to stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters under all circumstances and protect what is sacred to us. Israel should know this.”

Hezbolah's vow

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group condemned the storming of the mosque, calling it “a flagrant violation of believers in Jerusalem” that violated religious, moral and human values.

Hezbollah said it would support “all measures” Palestinian groups may take against Israel after clashes rocked Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque.

“Hezbollah forcefully denounces the assault carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Al Aqsa mosque compound and its attacks on the faithful,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

“Hezbollah proclaims its full solidarity with the Palestinian people and the resistance groups, and pledges that it will stand with them in all measures they take to protect worshippers and the Al-Aqsa mosque and to deter the enemy from continuing its attacks.”