Yeshuatami News Blog

All Things Israel

Terrorism

August 5-7, 2022: Israel Under Attack

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On August 1st, Israel arrested the senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Judea and Samaria; his name is Bassam al-Saadi.

Israel then learned from its intelligence agency that the PIJ in the Gaza Strip was planning a retaliatory terror attack with anti-tank (AT) missiles and snipers against Israeli civilians near the Gaza border.

Thousands of Israeli residents who live near the Gaza Strip border were instructed to stay in their homes and remain close to secure rooms. Social gatherings were canceled and roads and railways were closed for fear of rocket attacks. Two crossings that allow civilians and goods to enter the Gaza Strip were also closed by Israel.

On August 3rd, Khaled al-Batsh, head of the political wing of the PIJ in Gaza said: “We have every right to bomb Israel with our most advanced weapons and make the occupier (meaning Israel) pay a heavy price. We will not settle for [only] attacking around Gaza, but we will bomb the center of the so-called State of Israel.”

The PIJ claims to be the indigenous people of the land of Israel that they call Palestine and aims to continue the “armed struggle” until Israel’s defeat. They do not accept the “Two State Solution,” and refuse to accept the existence of the state of Israel under any conditions. (Click here to read more about the PIJ) 

Operation Breaking Dawn – Surgical Strikes

Thanks to precise intelligence, the Israeli Defense Air Force (IAF) launched a surprise operation named “Operation Breaking Dawn” on the afternoon of August 5th to eliminate the threat against Israeli citizens.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel (Photo: AFP)

In a surgical strike on August 5th, the IAF killed Tayseer Jabari, the PIJ northern Gaza division commanding officer who initiated the AT attack. Al Jabari was staying in a hideout apartment along with his anti-tank missile expert and the PIJ head of observation posts.

These three senior officers who posed a clear and immediate danger of terrorism were eliminated by the surgical strike of the IAF. No other resident of the building was killed or injured.

On August 6th, the PIJ commander of Gaza’s Southern area, Khaled Mansour, was also targeted and killed by an IDF strike.

At the same time, the IAF destroyed PIJ military infrastructure, bombing terrorist posts, manufacturing facilities, tunnels, and weapon stashes.

In response, the PIJ began rocket fire into Israel, beginning with the villages and city closest to the Gaza Strip, called Gaza Envelope, and then to the cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and around the Tel Aviv area.

The PIJ even attacked the Jerusalem vicinity. The Iron Dome intercepted three rockets while thousands of Jews were permitted to enter the Temple Mount compound for the 9th of Av observance of Tisha B’Av (9th of Av.)

The Israeli army, “Israel Defense Force” (IDF) is the only army that has the word Defense in its name since it repeatedly faces deadly enemies all about, therefore must defend itself constantly to survive.

Hamas and the PIJ have a long history of hiding behind civilians while firing missiles indiscriminately from Gazan residences at Israeli civilians. Hence, they use their civilians as human shields knowing that Israel avoids killing the innocent as much as possible.

To this effect, the IAF practices “roof knocking” which is dropping non-explosive warning shots onto the rooftops of Gaza residential buildings so uninvolved residents can flee before the bombing begins.

Ironically, two hundred PIJ rockets (about 15%) aimed at Israel fell inside the Gaza Strip or into the sea. Sadly for innocent Gazans, one such rocket, fired from within the civilian population, fell short on a home in the center of northern Gaza city, killing 4 children. The Palestinian media immediately blamed Israel, but the Israeli army quickly issued a video providing proof that this was not an Israeli strike.

Throughout that weekend, Israel also arrested 20 Palestinians in the West Bank, 19 of whom were members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

1,175 Missiles from Gaza

After a 3-day barrage consisting of 1,175 missiles fired by the PIJ at Israeli civilians (96% were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system, thereby no Israeli was killed. Some were injured and there was some property damage.) Egypt brokered a ceasefire that went into effect at 11:30 pm on Sunday, August 7th.

Although Hamas’ military and security capabilities are superior to those of the PIJ, Hamas did not participate in this operation to prevent escalation.

Hamas is still in the process of renewing its capabilities after last year’s war. Hamas did, however, issue some statements in support of the PIJ and encouraged the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, including Israeli Arabs to take part in the resistance.

Yet, even while negotiations were ongoing for a ceasefire, fighting between the two sides continued. The PIJ even increased rocket firing at nearby Israeli residents, and Israel continued aerial strikes at PIJ targets.

On August 7th at 23:30, The PIJ announced a ceasefire. Within 10 minutes, Israel agreed and stopped the attacks, while PIJ continued firing rockets. Israel did not retaliate. Currently, the ceasefire is holding without violations from either side.

Demands and Threats

On its website, on August 8th, 2022, the PIJ announced that it reserved the right to respond to every act of “Zionist aggression.” The PIJ claims that the ceasefire is conditional upon Israel releasing prisoners from Israeli jails soon and that Egypt guarantees this claim.

Additionally, according to the PIJ, a certain prisoner on a hunger strike was to be released to a hospital on August 8th, 2022, and from there sent home. Egypt requested the date be left open, and they agreed.

The PIJ announced that it considers the ceasefire agreement as null and void and will renew attacks should “The Enemy” –Israel – not meet their demands.

According to Israel, the release of prisoners was not part of the agreement.

Restrictions Lifted

Since the implementation of the ceasefire, all security restrictions on Israeli residents in the Gaza Envelope have been lifted and roads have been reopened.

The Gaza crossings have reopened, resuming the entry of goods to Gaza and the exit of about 14,000 Gazans who hold permits to work in Israel.

For now, life in Israel is back to “normal.” 
The question is, “How long?”

Please pray …

What is the PIJ?

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Map of Gaza Strip, Arutz Sheva

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant terrorist organization that operates mainly in the Gaza Strip where most of its military strength is located. The PIJ also operates terror cells in cities in Judea and Samaria, mainly in Jenin and Shechem (Nablus.)

The PIJ has headquarters in Lebanon and Syria and is a proxy of Israel’s archenemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both are determined to eliminate Israel as the state of the Jewish people.

With Iran’s help, the PIJ has grown militarily and now has an arsenal that includes:

  • Rockets that reach up to 120 km (north of Tel Aviv)
  • Mortars of various ranges
  • Cornet-type anti-tank missiles
  • Anti-aircraft missiles
  • Sniping capabilities
  • Attack tunnels (that penetrate Israel for terror attacks) 
  • Explosive drones and 
  • A naval unit. 

Here is a short film that shows the scope of their rockets:

In the 1990s, the PIJ began suicide attacks against Israelis in Israel and Judea and Samaria, and carried out more than 400 bombings in the years 2000-2005, murdering 134 Israelis and injuring 880.

When in 2007 Hamas, the larger Palestinian terror group, took over Gaza, the PIJ became the secondary terror group. Yet it continued rocket attacks on Israelis across the border.

The PIJ was founded in 1981 in Egypt but was expelled from the country. Its leaders moved to south Lebanon, where they collaborated with the militant Palestinian organization of Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is the main sponsor of PIJ. It funds the organization with tens of millions of dollars annually, as well as providing it with weapons and military training. Although the PIJ is Sunni, and Iran is mostly Shiite, they nevertheless unite to achieve their common goal, the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state.

Concerning the Middle East crisis: Iranian leader, Khamenei states that Palestine is “a part of their body and the only solution is the elimination of the root of this crisis, which is the Zionist regime – the Jewish state of Israel

The PIJ claims to be the indigenous people of the land of Israel which they call Palestine and is determined to continue the armed struggle until Israel’s defeat. They do not accept any “Two State Solution” and refuse to acknowledge Israel’s existence under any conditions.

The 9th of Av and the Weeks “Between the Straits”

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“From the straits I called to the Lord.” Psalm 118:5

The Month of Av in the Hebrew calendar starts this coming Saturday. The three-week period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av is known as the Dire Straits (or “distress” see Lamentations 1:3—“All who have overtaken her have done so in the midst of her distress”.)

Roman Triumphal arch panel copy from Beth Hatefutsoth, showing spoils of Jerusalem temple. Image by Wikimedia Commons.
Roman Triumphal arch panel copy from Beth Hatefutsoth, showing spoils of Jerusalem temple. Image by Wikimedia Commons.

The period of the Dire Straits starts on the 17th of Tammuz – the month before Av. Jerusalem’s walls were breached and Jerusalem fell; Jerusalem’s two Temples on the Temple Mount were destroyed on that same day, the 9th of Av, and the two Jewish exiles – first to Babylon for 70 years, and second throughout the world for about 2000 years – occurred on the 9th of Av.

The Jews have experienced many calamities over the centuries, and it is amazing to learn that most of those calamities occurred on the same day of the year, the 9th of Av.

The destruction of the Jerusalem Temples, especially that of the Second Temple, changed the path of Jewish history and the Jewish nation as the Jews were dispersed in the Diaspora among the nations (few Jews remained in the land) and survived against all odds. They went through persecution, expulsions and relocation, suffering, and calamities. Nonetheless, the Jews as a people were preserved by Jewish tradition and a longing to return to Jerusalem.

The 9th of Av, Tisha b’Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe that Jews believe God appointed this date for Jewish suffering.

Some of the catastrophes and calamities that happened to the Jews on the 9th of Av were:

586 BCE: The First Temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av in the year 586 BCE when most of the Jews from Judah and Benjamin were exiled to Babylon and Persia (Jeremiah 52).

69 CE: Five centuries later in 69 CE, the Romans attacked, torched, and destroyed the Second Temple on the 9th of Av, the same day as the first temple’s destruction. Most of the Jews were exiled to the Roman Empire. Many were sold into slavery and many were tortured and killed.

133 CE: When the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, they believed that their leader, Simon bar Kochba, would bring them victory and fulfill their messianic longings. However, in 133 CE, the Jewish rebels were brutally butchered in a final battle at Betar. The date of the massacre was the 9th of Av!
     A year after their conquest of Betar, the Romans plowed over the Temple Mount and built on the ruins of Jerusalem a pagan city that they renamed Aelia Capitolina.

1290 CE: on the 9th of Av, the Jews were expelled from England.

1492 CE: the Golden Age of Spain came to an end for the Jews. The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition forced mass conversion to Catholicism upon the Jews. Furthermore, Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand banished the Jews from Spain and Jewish property was confiscated. The edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, and the Jews were given exactly four months to leave the country. The Hebrew date when no Jew could no longer remain in Spain was the 9th of Av.

WWII and the Holocaust were actually the outcomes of WWI that were set into motion also on the 9th of Av. As we know, 6 million Jews were tortured and murdered in the Holocaust as part of the Nazi’s “Final Solution” to get rid of all the Jews. After the war, Gentiles in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary continued to persecute and murder Jews.

1949 CE: Israel won the war of independence. Yet, the Old City of Jerusalem remained in Jordanian hands, and Jews were forbidden to go up to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall except for one day, the 9th of Av.

2000 CE: Arab terrorist attacks and violence erupted in Jerusalem while Jews observed the 9th of Av.

2005 CE: The forced evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza in 2005 occurred on the 9th of Av.

According to God’s plans, the 9th of Av was meant to be a day of joy and celebration. When God led Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land in the year 1313 BCE, the 9th of Av was the day they were to enter the Holy land at Kadesh Barnea (the shortest distance from Egypt to the land of Israel.) Twelve men were sent to spy out the land. However, 10 spies (besides Joshua and Caleb) through lack of faith and full of fear brought back a negative report and said it was better to return to Egypt rather than be killed by the giants in the land. Because of their unbelief, the day of joy turned into a day of mourning.

God was highly displeased by Israel’s rebellion and lack of faith and made the people wander in the Sinai desert for 40 years until that whole generation died; only their children would have the privilege of entering and possessing the Promised Land. (Num. 13-14)

God has faithfully brought back His beloved Israel to the Land He promised their forefathers, and today the nation of Israel is again in the land of Israel. One day, the people of Israel will look upon the one they have pierced, Yeshua, (Zech. 12:10,) and they will proclaim, “Baruch haba beshem Adonai” (blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord) Matt. 23:39.) Yeshua said that on that day they would see Him again, but this time they will see Him as their Messiah and Savior. They will mourn for Him as for a firstborn Son (Zech. 12:10). And then, All Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26.) On that day, God will turn the mourning into great joy again.

Please Pray With Us

This is a dangerous time for Israel and the Jewish people world-wide. We are seeing evidence of rising antisemitism in many countries, including the United States. Please pray for our people, wherever they may be, for safety and especially for salvation.

The Enemy From Within

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No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. Isa. 54:17

The opening scene of the video “Fighting the Jews”
(Telegram, March 29, 2022)

The majority of the Arab Muslim Israeli citizens are mostly anti-Zionists who usually vote for the Israeli Arab parties which are also anti-Zionists. Some also vote for the two far-left Israeli parties of Meretz and Avoda which support the Arab ideology that Israel should be a nation of all its citizens and not just a Jewish nation. Nine out of ten Arab Muslim Israeli citizens are against Israel being the nation of the Jewish people. Very few vote for the right-wing Zionist parties. Hence, most of the Muslim Arab Israeli citizens are the enemy from within. Of course, not all are terrorists as even in the territories of Judea and Samaria few of the Arabs commit terrorist acts although the majority support the terrorists. The same holds true concerning Israeli Arabs who have Israeli citizenship.

In the Israeli parliament today two parties support the Arab terrorists. They are the Joint Arab party and Ra’am. Even while they officially condemned the last terror attacks, it was just lip service. Iman Udae, the leader of the Joint Arab party, compared the murder of the 5 Israeli citizens in the last terror attack in Bnei-Brak (one was an Arab Christian policeman) to the 51 Palestinian terrorists killed in the course of committing terrors acts since the beginning of the year. How can one compare the murder of innocent civilians with the defensive killing of terrorists? Murder cannot be compared to defensive killing. Udae’s referral to the terrorists as having been murdered actually reveals his opposition to Israel being a Jewish state.

Border Police officers carry the coffin of their comrade Shirel Aboukrat, who was killed in a terror attack in Hadera on March 27, 2022. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

The enemy from within doesn’t include the Arab Christian citizens who support Israel being a Jewish state. Many even volunteer in the Israeli army. Sadly, in the Brei-Brak attack, one Israeli Arab Christian police officer fought the Palestinian terrorist and was killed while defending with his body other Jewish passersby from being murdered.

The Muslim Arab enemy from within has accumulated a great amount of illegal weapons, thus adding to the mortal danger coming against Israel from outside her borders. What can Israel do to win the fight against the enemy from within? One way is to start an operation of going from house to house to find those who are among them, confiscate their illegal weapons and arrest their owners. That was actually what the Israeli forces did in Judea and Samaria at the height of the suicide bombing terror wave in the early 2000s. Now, when Israel is facing the danger of terror attacks from Arab citizens, the same operation is needed.

Last week, the Muslim wave of violence in Israel claimed the lives of 11 innocent people, with many others physically wounded and emotionally traumatized. Israeli Arab citizens, sympathizers of ISIS, committed two of the three deadly attacks, one in the southern city of Beersheba and the other in the central city of Hadera. News commentators link this wave of terrorism to the summit that took place in the Negev (desert area of southern Israel.) Foreign ministers of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Egypt gathered there early last week to strengthen the Abraham Accord peace initiative that was formed by former President Trump and former PM of Israel, Benyamin Netanyahu. The Palestinians, who opposed that summit, felt that the world was indifferent to their cause.

Although the focus of the summit was the Iranian threat, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others still wanted to address the Palestinian issue and the “two-state solution,” emphasizing that Israel’s normalization with the moderate Muslim states should not come at the expense of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

However, as proven in the past, peace with the “Zionist enemy”, as the Palestinians refer to the state of Israel, is not the Arab Muslim’s ultimate goal. If it were so, there would now be peace with Israel.

In fact, Arab Muslims, both in Israel and in Judea and Samaria, resorted to heinous acts of terrorism that killed Jews, a Christian Arab, and a Druze Israeli citizen, as well as two Ukrainian nationalists. Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and East Jerusalem celebrated the murders with cheers, candies, and pastries to honor the “martyrs” who murdered the innocent.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strong government allowed for the quietest security time Israel enjoyed for over a decade. Now, as the Palestinians consider the current Israeli government weak, terror strikes. Similar conditions resulted in great violence that led to the Second Intifada during the terrible days of the Oslo Accords, under former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, while peace talks were being held between the Israeli PM and the Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat. They armed him and his people with weapons to “maintain peace.” At that time, Israel was willing to make great concessions; still, the worst wave of Palestinian terror broke out.

Now, the current Israeli government promises financial loans to the PA, with the knowledge Abbas is continuing to financially support families of terrorists, even those from Israel. In addition, visits to Jordan, which include guarantees to ease restrictions during Ramadan, such as removing age limits on worshippers, with the knowledge that the youth are the most violent. Finally, the government has remained silent in the face of Blinken’s calls to prevent violence “on both sides” during Ramadan and Passover. Israeli PM Bennett knows very well that there is no comparison between the murderous Arab terrorists and the few Jewish settlers who retaliate by burning a few trees and throwing a few rocks.

Click here to read: about The Danger of the Islamic Month of Ramadan.

Please Pray

  1. Father God, we bring before You the many Muslims who are observing Ramadan and we ask for Your intervention as we pray for their salvation in Yeshua.
  2. In Yeshua’s name we stand against the powers of darkness behind Islam and call in the light of Yeshua to many hearts that seek the truth.
  3. We pray for the Israeli authorities who deal with security to have wisdom and patience. Father God we ask for protection of all security forces.

The Danger of the Islamic Month of Ramadan

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Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 123:44

In Islam, fasting is one of the major acts of worshiping Allah. Muslims believe that its spiritual dimensions purify the soul, instill self-reflection and inspire virtuous living.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. During this month, Muslims worldwide fast and abstain from sexual relations from dawn to dusk (then they can eat as much as they want until dawn the next day.) The fast excludes the elderly, the weak, the mentally ill, and those who have chronic illnesses.

The Muslims believe that a fasting person is rewarded manifold for all good deeds, and whoever fasts and prays during Ramadan with pure intentions will have their past sins forgiven.

During the month of Islam’s holiday of Ramadan, Muslims feel more zealous for their religion and the Jihad (Muslim holy war) which motivates them to launch more attacks against the infidels and all those who are viewed as enemies of the Islamic world.

Muslim worshippers gather for Friday prayers, next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount one day before the beginning of the Ramadan, last Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

During Ramadan, Muslims believe that fasting and prayer bring them closer to Allah. Often Muslim families wake up together before sunrise for an early breakfast. They also invite one another to break their fast (every evening) together thereby strengthening friendships and ties among neighbors, families, and friends. Many people also bring meals to mosques to share with the community, especially the poor, the needy, the traveler, and those without family. Together, they attend nightly Ramadan prayers at the mosque.

This year, even before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Palestinian Authority did its utmost to incite religious hatred and violence, spewing the libel that Israel is organizing an “escalation of hostilities” at the Temple Mount.

While the PA-incited terror rages, the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the visits of Jews to the Temple Mount – Judaism’s holiest site – as “invasions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and warned of Israel’s alleged “malicious intentions.” They exaggerate by saying that there is a continuation of invasions by Israeli officials during the “blessed month of Ramadan, which will cause an explosion in the occupied Palestinian territories.*

The reality is that “Al-Aqsa Mosque” is only a small part of the Temple mount, and while Jews are permitted to enter the Temple Mount for limited hours of the day, and are only allowed to walk around the periphery, they are strictly prohibited from praying and entering the mosque itself. 

In order to continue their incitement of an imaginary Israeli plan to “break into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque”, the PA conveniently ignores this reality and refers to the entire Temple Mount as the “Al-Aqsa Mosque.” They claim that Jewish visits there are totally unacceptable at any time, and warn against “the occupation’s* attempts to implement a plan to break into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan,” and against the “consequences this will have for the security and stability of the region and the world.”

While Jews visit the Temple Mount almost every day, Palestinians still claim that the continued Jewish visits to the Mount are a “new crime” and threaten that their response “will not be a regular light response.”

The PA incitement regarding the Temple Mount falsely claimed that “settlers are escalating their violations” and warned against non-existent attempts by “settler organizations under the auspices of the occupation (Israeli) police” to cause “an explosion”

“[PA] Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Al-Hadmi said: ‘The occupation authorities and the settlers* are escalating their violations in occupied East Jerusalem on the eve of the blessed [Muslim fasting] month of Ramadan.’ (the opposite is actually true.)

Just before Ramadan started, The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: ‘At a time when official Israel is attempting to hold the Palestinian side responsible for the escalation that it is creating and for its consequences under the slogan “the [Muslim fasting] month of Ramadan,” it is implementing a racist occupation policy, is continuing in its aggression against the Palestinian people every day, and is seeking to be aided by anarchy and violence to carry out its colonialist plans.’”

The Palestinians are actually turning the tables. They promote the lies that Israel has “cunning intentions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the month of Ramadan” and that the “occupation authorities”* are permitting “extremist settlers” to invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque (the entire Temple Mount). Furthermore, the PA contends that Israeli news warnings of Palestinian disturbances during the month of Ramadan are simply a prelude to Israel’s cunning intentions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque; the PA warns of the consequences of these attacks.”

As Palestinians carry out terror attacks and violence in E. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the Israeli police must use force to stop these attacks by any means. In turn, the PA accuses Israel of perpetrating the crimes that they warned about in the first place.

*PA terminology: 
“Occupied Palestine Territories” – the entire Land of Israel.
A “settler” – every Israeli Jewish citizen living in “Occupied Palestine.”
“Settler organizations” – Israeli authorities and government
“Settler’s terror” – “racist occupation policy” that is aided by anarchy and violence.

Palestinians wave a PLO flag at a tense protest at Damascus Gate during Ramadan 2021 | File photo: Oren Ben Hakoon

Right after Ramadan started on Saturday, violence started at Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem late on Sunday after the evening Ramadan prayers. The Israel Police which had been preparing for months for such confrontations, determined to stop them.

Many young Palestinian men rioted near Israeli police officers. A crowbar was thrown at police officers who responded by drawing guns (without shooting) against the Palestinians who gathered around them. Some of the Palestinians threw stones and bottles. One police officer was hit on the head while another officer broke his arm. The Israeli police do everything to keep order without causing harm or death.

During the rioting, Israeli officers attempt to arrest only those responsible for the incitement. However, sometimes, things go out of control and there is no choice but to use harsh measures.

While the Israeli police do everything possible to maintain the peace on this Ramadan holiday, the Palestinians choose to disrupt. This coming Friday will be dangerous, as tens of thousands of Muslims gather on the Temple Mount for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

The Israeli police are anticipating possible violence and preparing for such. Even one incident in this volatile situation can get out of hand and cause a disaster. Please pray.