What’s behind the Israeli and Palestinian conflict?

The confrontation, sparked by tensions old and new, threatens to deepen the region’s turmoil and force the US to shift attention to the Middle East.

Israel's Iron Dome aerial defence system intercepts a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip this week. Picture: AFP

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in the contested city of Jerusalem have escalated, with Israel striking scores of targets in Gaza in response to hundreds of rockets launched by Palestinian militants.

The confrontation, sparked by tensions old and new, threatens to deepen the region’s turmoil.

A full-blown war could force the US to shift attention to the Middle East when it has been focused on Russia, China and battling the coronavirus.

Here’s a quick primer on what’s going on.

What is happening in Jerusalem?
Jerusalem has experienced its worst violence in years, with Palestinians and Israeli police clashing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, at the Al- Aqsa Mosque and elsewhere in the Old City.

Tensions rose sharply over a looming Israeli Supreme Court decision on whether to uphold the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in the strategically situated Sheikh Jarrah.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured in the clashes, with police using flash grenades, tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets, which they said were necessary to respond to people throwing stones at security forces. More than 20 Israeli police have been injured.

The compound where the mosque is located, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and as the Temple Mount to Jews, has become a focal point of Palestinian anger over what they see as years of efforts to push them out of Jerusalem and limit their access to land they claim, as well as infringing on their basic rights.

Right-wing Israeli efforts to assert control in East Jerusalem, which Israel claims as part of its undivided capital, have inflamed the situation. Monday was especially tense as young right-wing Israelis participated in marches associated with Jerusalem Day, meant to commemorate Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Why are Israel and Gaza ruler Hamas fighting?
Hamas began firing rockets toward Israel on Monday night after the militant group issued an ultimatum to Israeli police forces to leave the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex and other areas in the contested city or else face attacks. The cross-border clashes are the worst since the 2014 Gaza war, with Hamas sending hundreds of rockets toward central Israel.

Some of the first rockets were aimed at Jerusalem, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was a red line. Since Monday night, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have launched more than 1800 rockets towards Israel, which has responded with aerial attacks that Palestinian medical services say have killed 119 people, including 31 children. Israel says it has killed dozens of operatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gaza’s second-largest militant group. Eight Israelis, including a six-year-old boy and a soldier, have died in rocket attacks.

Hamas, the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip since it seized control in 2007, says it will continue to fight until Israel changes course in Jerusalem. Israel says it wants Hamas — which the US and other Western countries consider a terrorist group — to get the message that it won’t accept attacks on its citizens and cities.

What is Israel’s Iron Dome?
Israel’s land-based Iron Dome missile defence system intercepts short-range rockets and has become a bedrock of the country’s defence since its introduction in 2011.

In the current round of hostilities, Israel’s military said the system has intercepted about 90 per cent of the rockets fired towards Israel. The system selectively intercepts rockets that threaten civilians or strategic infrastructure.

How has the US responded so far?
The Biden administration has urged both sides to de-escalate tensions, engaging in discussions with Israeli and Palestinian officials. The US has condemned the rocket fire and said it supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but has also expressed concerns about evictions in East Jerusalem and clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“The President and his team will continue to pursue the conditions for diplomacy dialogue and de-escalation and protection of civilians, even as we work together with our friends to deter acts of violence and terrorism,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “We will also continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is the only way to ensure the just and lasting peace that two peoples have struggled to achieve.”

What does this mean for the Middle East?
The tensions surrounding Jerusalem and the wider conflagration with Gaza will test Israel’s new-found relations with its new Arab neighbours, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, as well as neighbouring Egypt and Jordan. Jerusalem and the status of the Palestinians is an emotional issue for the Muslim world. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others have condemned Israel’s actions in Jerusalem.

The Wall Street Journal