And just imagine the scene - Israelis celebrating Passover. This was the biggest rocket barrage from Lebanon to Israel since the two countries fought a devastating war in 2006. So Israel is now facing threats on both its southern and northern borders.įLORIDO: Tell us more about the significance of rocket fire from Lebanon and who was behind that.ĮSTRIN: It is significant. What's unusual here, though, is that militants in Lebanon also fired a few dozen rockets on Israel's north. So we saw militants in Gaza then fire rockets onto Israel's south. Israel is actually blaming Hamas, the Hamas militia in Gaza, for helping spread these images on social media and trying to ignite tension and violence. And this was caught on video, and it spread on social media throughout the Middle East and sparked a lot of anger. They were setting off fireworks.Īnd Israeli police repeatedly hit and beat Palestinians who were on the carpeted mosque floor. Israeli police then raided the mosque to break up the group of activists, and sparks were literally flying inside the mosque. And Palestinian activists were gathering overnight at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to defend it from this fringe group. It's revered in Islam but also in Judaism. And there was a fringe Jewish group that was calling to revive this biblical tradition of a Passover goat sacrifice at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. Well, Ramadan and Passover happened to coincide this year. Hi, Daniel.įLORIDO: Can you explain how all of this has snowballed from a crisis in Jerusalem to a crisis on multiple fronts?ĮSTRIN: Yeah. The question is, on what scale? NPR's Daniel Estrin joins us from Tel Aviv. A few came from Gaza, many more from Lebanon, and that's important. Scenes circulated around the region showing police using batons to beat people inside one of Islam's holiest sites.įLORIDO: Soon, militants fired rockets into Israel. Israel says they were going after Palestinians stockpiling rocks and fireworks. For two days in a row, Israeli police have raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
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