On Tuesday evening, Palestinian terrorists incited violence at the Temple Mount, leading to clashes with Israeli security forces. In turn, these clashes incited Gazan terrorists into launching rockets towards Israeli civilian populations. Shamefully, the media has once again blamed Israel.

The Temple Mount, the holiest site for Judaism, has once again become a flashpoint for Palestinian violence over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The site of the former Temples to God is now home to the al-Aqsa mosque, a holy site for Muslims. After Ramadan prayers on Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinian men began to chant antisemitic threats against Israel. Then, armed with sticks, rocks and fireworks, they barricaded themselves inside the al-Qibla prayer hall inside the al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli forces attempted to negotiate with the disruptors but to no avail. The IDF was then forced to enter the mosque and arrest the rioters so that Muslims would be free to pray once again inside the mosque the next day.

Here is a video showing how terrorists were launching fireworks at Israeli forces and desecrating the mosque from within.

They are not worshippers peacefully praying in the mosque. They are terrorists.

Note, this is supposedly the third holiest site in Islam. Palestinians claim to “love al-Aqsa”, and yet they are willfully damaging it from within and desecrating the site.

Unfortunately, international media outlets are spouting the anti-Israel propaganda that Israeli forces “stormed al-Aqsa”.

The reality is that Israel was actually protecting al-Aqsa. It was enabling all Muslims to freely enter the site and worship there.

Likewise, it was protecting Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. Last year, Palestinian terrorists did exactly the same thing when they barricaded themselves in the mosque. Last year, however, they fired fireworks from the roof of the building and set fire to a tree. Additionally, Palestinian terrorists attempted to fire fireworks and hurl rocks into the Western Wall compound where Jews were praying below. This is why Israel was forced to take action and arrest those responsible because it protects the lives of Jews and it protects the freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims.

As expected from all of this, Palestinian media outlets spread their propaganda. This was accepted blindly by Arab news sources throughout the Middle East. The Arab League held an emergency meeting to discuss what was happening in Jerusalem. Likewise, UN special observers were quick to condemn Israel without carefully looking at the facts.

They all played into the Palestinian terrorists’ hands, believing the lies and blaming Israel instead of holding the Palestinian terrorists and inciters to account.

Unfortunately, this incitement on the Temple Mount only leads to one thing, an increased hatred against Israel and the Jewish people. And this is what the terrorists’ aim is. It also riles terrorists in Gaza and Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

On cue, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, under the guise of “defending al-Aqsa”, launched a flurry of rockets into Israel.

The reports at the time of writing are that between 9 and 16 rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza. Most of them were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome, small defensive rockets that shoot incoming Palestinian rockets out of the sky. One of the rockets landed on an Israeli warehouse where people were working inside.

The video below shows how workers rush to the bomb shelter of the warehouse after they hear sirens outside. They are all inside the shelter in safety when a rocket hits the building, right near where the bomb shelter is located.

Thankfully, none of these workers was injured thanks to their quick actions and because their warehouse was equipped with a bomb shelter. However, many of them are likely to be shaken by the close call.

It is important to note here that these warehouse workers are Israeli civilians. They are not legitimate targets. This is a war crime by Palestinian terror groups against civilians and it should be condemned by all.

Israel, unlike the Palestinian authorities, has invested millions of pounds into protecting its civilians. They have bomb shelters in many homes, businesses, schools and playgrounds. Because they never know who will be the next target of Palestinian terror.

Instead of condemning this terror, too many governments and media outlets are fooled into blaming Israel. Israel is the victim of this terror, and yet it is treated as the perpetrator. The terrorists win doubly because they not only are able to harm innocent Israelis with their attacks, but they also manage to trick the world into blaming the victims, Israel.

In response to the terror rockets fired from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of air strikes on Hamas targets, primarily on a weapons factory in the Gaza strip which Israel says will help to limit Hamas’s ability to carry out future attacks.

Just as Israel was responding to terror on the Temple Mount, Israel was responding to terror from Gaza when it carried out these airstrikes. Despite this, many media outlets ran with headlines such as, “Israel strikes Gaza” or something similar to depict Israel as the agressor.

The reality is that Israel is the victim of a terror campaign carried out by Palestinian terror groups and funded by Western democracies who blindly give billions of pounds a year to the Palestinian Authority and other anti-Israel groups that fund these actions. And the media is complicit in spreading the Palestinian narrative and hiding the truth of the situation. It all adds up to the terrorists acting with impunity and Israel being hated even more.

This is why we must do all we can to defend Israel and shine the light of truth on these situations.

Please continue to pray for Israel and the Jewish people. And if you would like to support the work of CUFI in the UK, please visit: https://cufi.org.uk/donate

This year, we want to do more to bless Israel and the Jewish people.

We know that as we bless Israel this year, God will bless us, just as He promised in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Now is the time to bless Israel and the Jewish people.

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