Israel Intercepts Gaza Rocket Strikes as Tensions Rise Over East Jerusalem

Israel authorities said they have intercepted rocket strikes launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza as tensions continue to rise over occupied East Jerusalem.

The attack is the first in months and was conducted on Monday as another escalation following clashes at a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem. A series of deadly attacks were observed inside Israel and military raids were conducted across the occupied West Bank.

Gaza Rocket Strikes

After the announcement of the interception, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Currently, Israel is holding Gaza's militant Hamas rulers responsible for all such projectiles and said they usually launch airstrikes afterward. The recent attack follows the one that was reported on New Year's Eve.

Israeli fighter jets on Tuesday carried out a series of airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip where they targeted a "weapons manufacturing site." The region was under the control of Hamas, said the Israel military, adding that there were no reports of injuries.

Hours before the rocket strike, the leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group, which has access to an arsenal of rockets, issued a brief, cryptic warning where he condemned Israeli "violations" in Jerusalem, as per the Associated Press.

Hamas has warned that any incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound would be considered a "red line" after Israeli forces raided the site in East Jerusalem several times in the last few days. They arrested hundreds of Palestinians and left several dozens injured in the area.

On the other hand, Palestinians have accused Israel of crawling into Al-Aqsa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But Israeli officials said that Palestinian protesters sought to disrupt Muslim prayer for political ends and to prevent Jews from visiting the area despite celebrating Passover.

According to Aljazeera, both Jews and Muslims revere the site and find it holy ground as Israeli police said they were committed to ensuring that members of all faiths could celebrate the holidays safely. Before the rocket strike, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett claimed that Hamas was waging a "wild harassment campaign" against his nation.

Escalating Tensions

Ziad al-Nakhalah, who is based outside the Palestinian territories, said that threats to tighten an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza that was imposed after Hamas took control in 2007 would not be able to silence them from what was happening in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Over the weekend, Israeli and Palestinian police clashed in and around the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The area is considered as the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest for Jews who refer to it as the Temple Mount. This is because the mosque stands on a hilltop where the Jewish temples were located in antiquity.

Last year, protests and clashes between the two factions were what eventually led to the horrific 11-day Gaza war. The situation has forced a number of U.S. officials to engage in phone calls with Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab representatives in the region over the weekend. They seek to de-escalate the situation in Jerusalem, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Monday, CBC reported.