Rocket fire aimed at southern Israel from Gaza on Tuesday night came at a high price for Muslim worshipers hoping to join Ramadan prayers at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque this week.
At least 500 Gazans were counting on permits to enter Israel to pray on the Temple Mount in the Old City for the holiday. But all entry permits into Israel were canceled on Wednesday, immediately following a rocket attack Tuesday night.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was quoted by Ma’an as saying those who were scheduled to leave Thursday and Friday could not enter Israel. “The security conditions around the crossing aren’t stable,” said Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who added that Israel would re-evaluate the security conditions next week.
Palestinian Authority Muslim worshipers are traditionally given increased access to mosques in Jerusalem from Judea, Samaria and Gaza as a gesture for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In addition, those living abroad are allowed to enter Israel via Ben Gurion International Airport in order to visit family in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Likewise, those living in the territories are provided with passes to visit family abroad.
Late last night (June 23), however, thousands of Israeli men and women were forced to quit their beds, gather their children and flee their homes for bomb shelters.
The blare of the Code Red rocket alert siren wailed in communities throughout the Gaza Belt area as well as the Ashkelon coastal region. It sent more than half a million people racing through the darkness for cover.
Hundreds of security personnel were sent out to search for the rocket fired at southern Israel by terrorists from Gaza and assess the damage wrought, if any.
Remnants of the projectile were later found not far from the Erez Crossing, in an open area where it could do no harm.
“Hamas is responsible for depriving worshipers of prayer in the Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan,” Mordechai told Ma’an. “I am not saying that Hamas fired the missile, but Hamas is responsible for it because Hamas controls Gaza.”
The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigades – a Salafi Muslim group linked to Da’esh (ISIS) – claimed responsibility for the attack, as it has for several others in recent weeks.
The IDF retaliated – as it has on previous occasions – with an early-morning air strike Wednesday that destroyed a rocket launcher in Gaza.