Israel witnessed yet another week marred by tragedy and bloodshed. One of the times for Jews, Christians and Muslims has become another blood bath, leaving us feeling more hopeless than ever before. The idea that there will ever be an end to this violence looks more unlikely each day.
Welcome to the Passover and Ramadan that Hamas planned all along. Every year, without fail, the Gaza-based terror group finds a way to incite violence among impressionable Palestinians and turn Ramadan into a violent blood bath. And every year, without fail, the media and international community find a way to misrepresent the situation.
Since the start of the holiday, hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers have visited the al-Aqsa Mosque and have held peaceful and respectful prayer services. Israel granted thousands of additional permits to Palestinian worshippers. Despite the increase in terror attacks leading up to Ramadan, Israel has worked with the Jordanian Waqf to ensure ease during the holy month for Muslims.
Is al-Aqsa in danger?
Every Ramadan, Hamas repeats the same story. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, the terror group had issued statements with the false claim that al-Aqsa was in danger and called on Palestinians to confront Jews and defend al-Aqsa. They used the excuse that a handful of Jewish fanatics were planning on sacrificing animals at the Temple Mount to reinforce their conspiracy theories.
The Israeli Police always stop these Jewish provocateurs but sadly, these facts don’t matter to Hamas. Every year without fail, they spread the lie that Jewish people are plotting to destroy al-Aqsa, which is why the Temple Mount has become the epicenter of violence and led to the war in 2021.
The night before Passover, a large group of Palestinian rioters incited by Hamas stormed the Temple Mount and began chanting violent sentiments, including calls for the destruction of Israel and the death of Jews. A group of extremists smuggled fireworks, stones and other explosive devices into al-Aqsa mosque. The Israeli Police attempted to remove the masked rioters from the compound. Instead of leaving, the rioters locked and barricaded themselves inside the mosque with other worshippers inside and began setting off fireworks, hurling stones, vandalizing the compound and desecrating the mosque. The Israeli Police stated that many attempts were made to reason with the rioters through dialogue but eventually, they were forced to enter the compound to remove them.
THE INTENSE brawl of Israeli Police beating Palestinians was captured on video and circulated all over social media. The footage is terrible and difficult to watch but it only depicts one side of the story. As Israeli forces entered the mosque, a violent fight broke out, with the rioters setting off fireworks. Unfortunately, the rioters trapped innocent worshippers in the mosque who got caught in the crossfire.
Some reporters perpetuated the false claim that the riots began because Israel banned overnight stays at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan. This is false because that order came from the Jordanian Waqf, who set the regulations for visitors, including no overnight stays except for Friday and Saturday and the last ten days of Ramadan. Israeli Police arrested 350 suspects involved in the riots causing another PR meltdown as anti-Israel journalists and figures sat behind their keyboards and published inaccurate and performative statements on Twitter.
Violent responses to Temple Mount riots
In response to the violence at the Temple Mount, Hamas factions launched 98 missiles targeting Israeli civilians: 64 from Gaza and 34 from Lebanon on Passover Day. The rockets in the North even hit Arab-Israeli villages like Pe’kin (a predominantly Druze-Israeli town) and Fassuta (a Christian-Israeli town), where a rocket impact damaged a car and injured a Christian-Israeli. While antisemitism drives Hamas terrorism against Israeli civilians, Jews, Muslims and Christians are all victims of the group’s violence. Israel reacted to Hamas’s rockets by striking their terror tunnels and weapon manufacturing sites.
The following day, two Israeli – British sisters, Rina (15) and Maia (20) Dee, were murdered by a Palestinian terrorist who shot them dead. The Palestinian shooter opened fire and overtook their car, causing it to veer off the road and critically injured their mother, Lucianne, who tragically died on Monday.
Later that same Friday, an Arab-Israeli rammed his car into a group of Italian and British tourists on the boardwalk in Tel Aviv. The 44-year-old terrorist was Yousef Abu Jaber from the Israeli Arab city of Kafr Qasem. He injured seven British and Italian tourists and claimed the life of Alessandro Parini, an Italian tourist visiting Israel for the first time for the upcoming Easter holidays. Abu Jaber’s family claimed it was a traffic accident but the Police and Shin Bet have ruled out that possibility.
In three months, three sets of siblings and twelve other innocent civilians were murdered by terrorists. How the media has reported this chain of events between al-Aqsa compared to the rockets and attacks has been egregious. They are responsible for whitewashing the murder of these civilians.
Every Ramadan, we see an escalation at the Temple Mount and it continues to be misrepresented every year.