Israeli airstrikes target Gaza sites, first since cease-fire

Israeli aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday the first such raids since a shaky ceasefire ended the war with Hamas last monthThe airstrikes targeted facilities used by Hamas militants for meetings to plan attacks the Israeli military said blaming the group for any act of violence emanating from Gaza There were no immediate reports of casualtiesOn Tuesday hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists some chanting ldquoDeath to Arabsrdquo paraded in east Jerusalem in a show of force that threatened to spark renewed violence Palestinians in Gaza responded by launching incendiary balloons that caused at least 10 fires in southern IsraelThe march posed a test for Israels fragile new government as well as the tenuous truce that ended last months 11day war between Israel and HamasPalestinians consider the march meant to celebrate Israels capture of east Jerusalem in 1967 to be a provocation Hamas called on Palestinians to ldquoresistrdquo the parade a version of which helped ignite last months 11day Gaza warWith music blaring hundreds of Jewish nationalists gathered and moved in front of Damascus Gate Most appeared to be young men and many held blueandwhite Israeli flags as they danced and sang religious songsAt one point several dozen youths jumping and waving their hands in their air chanted ldquoDeath to Arabsrdquo In another antiArab chant they yelled May your village burnrdquoIn a scathing condemnation on Twitter Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said those shouting racist slogans were ldquoa disgrace to the Israeli peoplerdquo adding ldquoThe fact that there are radicals for whom the Israeli flag represents hatred and racism is abominable and unforgivablerdquoThe crowd while boisterous appeared to be much smaller than during last months parade From the Damascus Gate they proceeded around the Old City to the Western Wall the holiest place where Jews can prayAhead of the march Israeli police cleared the area in front of Damascus Gate shut down roads to traffic ordered shops to close and sent away young Palestinian protesters Police said that officers arrested 17 people suspected of involvement in violence some of whom threw rocks and attacked police and that two police officers needed medical treatment Palestinians said five people were hurt in clashes with policeThe parade provided an early challenge for Israels new prime minister Naftali Bennett a hardline Israeli nationalist who has promised a pragmatic approach as he presides over a delicate diverse coalition governmentThough there were concerns the march would raise tensions canceling it would have opened Bennett and other rightwing members of the coalition to intense criticism from those who would view it as a capitulation to Hamas The coalition was sworn in Sunday and includes parties from across the political spectrum including a small Arab partyMansour Abbas whose Raam party is the first Arab faction to join an Israeli coalition said the march was ldquoan attempt to set the region on fire for political aimsrdquo with the intention of undermining the new governmentAbbas said the police and public security minister should have canceled the event ldquoI call on all sides not to be dragged into an escalation and maintain maximum restraintrdquo he saidIn past years the march passed through Damascus Gate and into the heart of the Muslim Quarter a crowded Palestinian neighborhood with narrow streets and alleys But police changed the route Tuesday to avoid the Muslim QuarterInstead the route went around the ancient walls of the Old City and through Jaffa Gate a main thoroughfare for tourists and toward the Jewish Quarter and Western Wall the holiest site where Jews can prayDamascus Gate is a focal point of Palestinian life in east Jerusalem Palestinian protesters repeatedly clashed with Israeli police over restrictions on public gatherings during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in April and MayThose clashes spread to the AlAqsa Mosque compound a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims Tensions at the time were further fueled by protests over the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers also in JerusalemAt the height of the tensions on May 10 Israeli ultranationalists held their annual flag parade While it was diverted from the Damascus Gate at the last minute it was seen by Palestinians as an unwelcome celebration of Israeli control over what they view as their capitalIn the name of defending the holy city Hamas fired longrange rockets at Jerusalem disrupting the march and sparking the Gaza war which claimed more than 250 Palestinian lives and killed 13 people in IsraelAfter capturing east Jerusalem in 1967 Israel annexed the in a move not recognized by most of the international community It considers the entire city its capital while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state The competing claims over east Jerusalem home to Jewish Christian and Muslim holy sites lie at the heart of the conflict and have sparked many rounds of violenceHamas had called on Palestinians to show ldquovaliant resistancerdquo to the march It urged people to gather in the Old City and at the AlAqsa Mosque to ldquorise up in the face of the occupier and resist it by all means to stop its crimes and arrogancerdquoIn the afternoon Hamaslinked Palestinians launched some incendiary balloons from Gaza setting off at least 10 blazes in southern Israel according to Israels national fire departmentAbu Malek one of the young men launching the balloons called the move ldquoan initial responserdquo to the marchPrime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh of the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank called the march an ldquoaggression against our peoplerdquo In neighboring Jordan the Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the march as ldquounacceptablerdquo saying it undermined efforts to reduce friction between Israel and the PalestiniansThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever