“Death to the Arabs” and a call for resistance … All you need to know about the flare-up of tension in Jerusalem

East Jerusalem witnessed tensions after midnight on Saturday, as clashes took place between Palestinians and Israeli police in night clashes during the month of Ramadan, sparking protests in towns across the occupied West Bank as militants fired rockets from the Gaza Strip.

Tensions increased in the city after protests on Thursday by Palestinian youths angered by restrictions imposed on gathering during the month of Ramadan, and Israeli protests angered by Palestinian attacks on religious Jews in recent times, according to Reuters.
‘Death to the Arabs’

Police were largely able to separate the protesters on Thursday, when many of the Israeli far-right participants chanted “Death to the Arabs.”

However, the arrests and injuries increased tensions that extended to Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday morning, when Palestinian youths gathered again outside the Old City and clashed with hundreds of riot police.

The Palestinians threw stones at the police, who used water cannons. Others pelted an Israeli court building with stones and destroyed security cameras.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that eight Palestinians were injured Friday night in clashes with the police, and two of them were taken to hospital.
Call for resistance in Jerusalem

The Israeli army said that three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Friday night, shortly after Hamas, which rules the Strip, and other militants issued a joint call for resistance in Jerusalem.

The IDF said that two rockets exploded near the Israel-Gaza border, while the Iron Dome defense system was intercepted by the third. There were no reports of injuries.
In the West Bank, Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli forces at military checkpoints near several cities.

Since the beginning of the month of Ramadan, there have been clashes and violent incidents every night in Jerusalem.

Palestinians say that the Israeli police tried to prevent their usual Ramadan evening gatherings at the Damascus Gate by erecting metal barriers.

The Israelis were angered by videos on social media showing Palestinian youths attacking religious Jews in the city.

It is noteworthy that Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its capital, including the eastern part it occupied in the 1967 war. The Palestinians seek to make East Jerusalem the capital of their future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.