As Passover celebrations began in the Holy Land, a crisis was brewing as Palestinian leaders encouraged rioting on the Temple Mount under the pretense of protecting the religious site from Israeli incursions.
On Tuesday evening, Palestinian agitators armed with rocks, fireworks and other projectiles barricaded themselves inside the Al Aqsa mosque, forcing Israeli police to enter the compound and evacuate worshipers using stun grenades and rubber bullets to repel rioters.
The media response was quick and somewhat inevitable.
Several mainstream news organizations published inaccurate reports that Israeli police had “attacked worshipers,” which HonestReporting acted to correct:
Israeli security forces did not “attack worshippers,” @SBSNews.
They removed violent rioters from the Temple Mount and restored calm so that peaceful holiday celebrations could continue.
Please fix this. pic.twitter.com/N2WWAgMSXL
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 5, 2023
Israeli police moved to 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 Muslims and Jews alike against a group of rioters attempting to use the Temple Mount to launch attacks on security forces and worshippers — but you won’t read that in the @Telegraph this morning.https://t.co/plmWYxkD5t pic.twitter.com/NvFewAmU6p
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 5, 2023
In addition, we pointed out that the presence of Israeli police was necessitated by the longstanding agreement between Israel and the Jordanian Wafq, the religious body that administers the site, that explicitly forbids worshipers from staying at the mosque overnight outside of Thursdays and Fridays and the last 10 days of Ramadan:
The agreement with the Jordanian government explicitly forbids overnight stays at Al-Aqsa.
H/t @elderofziyon https://t.co/WQb8Upx0Py pic.twitter.com/gdAxUHh1lC
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 5, 2023
The unrest continued overnight into Wednesday when Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired 10 rockets in three waves toward Sderot and the Yad Mordechai kibbutz in southern Israel, hitting a factory located in the Sderot industrial zone.
Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement: “Our Palestinian people will not allow the occupation’s plans to be implemented in al-Aqsa Mosque, and we call on our people to inflict upon the occupation the price of this crime.”
Hours ago, a rocket fired from #Gaza hit a factory in Sderot, a city in southern Israel. Several people working in the factory at the time had to run out.
Miraculously, no one was injured. pic.twitter.com/8a8UBT09wU
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 5, 2023
In response, the Israeli Air Force launched strikes on two weapons manufacturing and storage sites in the Strip on Wednesday morning before later hitting a military compound controlled by Hamas.
Terrorist organizations ramped up their campaign of incitement, including Islamic Jihad’s Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhala urging Palestinians to prepare for a “confrontation” on the Temple Mount and Hamas describing the clashes as “an unprecedented crime” while calling on Palestinians to assemble at the Jerusalem flashpoint.
For the second night in a row, dozens of Palestinian youths — many wearing masks — threw rocks at police and attempted to barricade themselves inside the mosque, stopping other worshipers from leaving. Israeli police were again forced to enter the compound and arrest rioters.
However, numerous news outlets erroneously suggested the disturbance was a result of Israeli forces “storming” the Al Aqsa mosque to remove “worshipers”:
On Thursday afternoon, rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel when Lebanon-based terrorists launched a barrage of rockets at several Israeli towns and villages.
Again, HonestReporting worked swiftly to counter misinformation on social media, specifically responding to tweets that attempted to downplay the severity of indiscriminate rocket fire on Israeli territory:
You can delete your original tweet, but screenshots live forever! https://t.co/gAEWUxBIPS pic.twitter.com/x8rENReDLv
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 6, 2023
🚨 #IsraelUnderFire: Over the Passover holiday, Hamas factions in Lebanon fired 34 rockets at Israeli civilians in the north, targeting Jewish and Arab villages.
One of the rockets even fell next to a children’s playground.
This is indiscriminate targeting of innocent… pic.twitter.com/FhETxwxK77
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 6, 2023
Israel responded to the attack and further overnight rocket fire from Gaza with precision strikes on Friday morning in Gaza and Lebanon, hitting three Hamas targets south of the Lebanese city of Tyre. In the Strip, several terror tunnels and weapons facilities were targeted.
So far, a total of 98 rockets have been fired at Israel, including 64 from the Gaza Strip and 34 from Lebanon.
Sderot home struck by a direct hit from #Hamas in #Gaza. This is not how Israelis should be celebrating the Festival of Freedom. Hoping the international community stops Hamas and #Lebanon from sabotaging both #Passover and #Ramadan and for fair and accurate media coverage. pic.twitter.com/4o1nklo8OG
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 7, 2023
How hard is it to give readers the full facts @AP?
Israel was responding to a barrage of indiscriminate rocket fire from terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza.
The IDF targeted terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hamas. pic.twitter.com/GyIgYLN0qC
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 7, 2023
Worryingly, all signs are pointing to an even more serious escalation.
There were more disturbances in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday when a group of Palestinians threw rocks at the Mughrabi Gate on the Western Wall shortly after the dawn prayers.
A mob later gathered at the Dome of the Rock and waved Palestinian and Hamas flags while chanting pro-terror slogans, including: “With our soul and blood, we will sacrifice ourselves for you, O al-Aqsa.”
On Friday morning, two Israeli sisters were murdered in a shooting attack perpetrated by a Palestinian terrorist near Hamra in the West Bank. Their mother was airlifted to Hadassah Medical Center in critical condition. The family moved to Israel from the United Kingdom.
🚨 BREAKING: Two Israeli women murdered and another in serious condition following a reported shooting terror attack near the Hamra junction on the Route 57 highway.
There is a manhunt for the perpetrator. pic.twitter.com/6kqlBLGirB
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 7, 2023
Hamas celebrated the attack as a “natural response to the occupation’s ongoing crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque and its barbaric aggression against Lebanon and the steadfast Gaza.”
Israel is now on a state of alert after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered security to be bolstered on all roads and in communities in the aftermath of the deadly attack.
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Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90
