#Israel on Sunday issued a formal #DeclarationOfWar against #Hamas & pounded #Gaza w/ strikes, promising retaliation for an unprecedented attack by the #militant group that surprised Israeli #security forces. The #DeathToll has risen to 600 in Israel, & thousands have been injured…, while Palestinian authorities said ≥370 were killed & 2,200 injured in Gaza.
#Hamas leaders said Saturday’s op came in response to a series of provocative moves by Israelis, incl’g the storming of the #alAqsaMosque complex in East #Jerusalem (on September 17, & on October 4, 2023) — a site known to Jews as the Temple Mount — by #ultranationalist Israeli settlers.
Sept 17, 2023, Israeli forces attacked Palestinian worshippers at Bab as-Silsila, one of the main entrances to the #AlAqsaMosque compound in #occupied East #Jerusalem….
Israeli forces imposed tight security measures, ejecting worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque & intensifying their presence around it, denying access to any Palestinian below the age of 50 to clear the way for #ultranationalist Israeli settlers in celebration of Rosh Hashanah….
October 4, 2023 dozens of Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint #AlAqsaMosque complex in #occupied East #Jerusalem to mark the fifth day of Sukkot….
Since Oct 1, thousands of settlers have been carrying out provocative tours of the mosque complex following calls by #ultranationalist Jewish groups.
Israeli settlers stormed the complex on Oct 4 in groups through the al-Mughrabi Gate by the Western Wall near Al-Aqsa Mosque & attempted to perform “Talmudic rituals”….
Police imposed age restrictions & prevented young Palestinians from entering the mosque during the incursions, witnesses told the Anadolu news agency.
It is sad and disappointing to see war break out and the loss of life in occupied #Palestine. Hamas may have started this war, but not without reason and ample provocation imo. #Israel is an #Apartheid state that encourages the illegal seizure of land, violent attacks by settlers on local #Palestinians, and provocative incursions at #AlAqsaMosque. They stystematically dehumanize and disrespect their Palestinian neighbors with checkpoints, walls, and land seizures. It’s long past time, imo, for the world and the US specifically to call out these breaches of Int’l law and impose sanctions on the Israeli state. In 2007, I wrote a post about how we should allow Israel to stand on its own, without US support. http://popimpulse.blogspot.com/2012/11/it-is-time-to-let-israel-stand-on-its.html
On Israeli TV pundits (mostly ex #IDF) insist the attack today is a result of the compromises made to the #Hamas, and the solution is re-occupying #Gaza and solving the problem once and for all.
Aljazeera constantly includes the geopolitical context, close and long term. Especially recent events leading to today, such as what happened in #Jenin, #Huwara and #alaqsamosque …