“Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip renewed rocket fire into Israel at dawn Thursday after a three-hour lull in attacks overnight. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces continued to attack what it said were key Hamas targets, destroying the terror group’s treasuries and hitting more top leaders.”

Also see:

• Hamas launches major salvo on Tel Aviv, suburbs after IDF eliminates 4 terror cells (Israel Hayom)
• Israel steps up Gaza offensive, kills senior Hamas figures (Associated Press)
• IDF calls up reservists as rockets continue to pound Israel (Jerusalem Post)
• Israeli jets strike Gaza; Hamas launches rockets as Israeli ground troops stand by (Washington Post)
• Palestinian resistance in Gaza vows to not back down against Israel (Al-Monitor)
• Hamas fires rocket at Israel’s second airport near Eilat (The New Arab)

“Israel rejected offers of a truce on behalf of the Hamas terrorist group, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, at a meeting of the top military brass and security officials occasioned by the sharp escalation between the Jewish state and Gaza-based Islamists. Israeli media reported that the security cabinet – comprising Netanyahu, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi and several others – agreed to elevate the offensive against Gazan terrorists, amid an understanding that the military operation could go on for another week.”

Also see:

• Netanyahu says Israel will escalate military campaign against Hamas (Washington Post)
• Egyptian delegation in Tel Aviv for ceasefire talks amid escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas (Washington Examiner)
• Report: Israel rules out ceasefire after Hamas seeks international mediation (Washington Post)
• Hamas official tells Russia: We’re ready for ceasefire with Israel (TImes of Israel)
• Israel’s latest operation against Gaza is far from over – analysis (Jerusalem Post)
• Army Prepares to End Gaza Fighting [after first escalating it] Amid Jewish-Arab Violence in Israeli Cities (Haaretz)

“…In Gaza, a crowded coastal enclave of 2 million people, there are no air raid sirens or safe houses. Temporary United Nations shelters have come under attack in previous years of conflict. In the past two days, Israeli airstrikes brought down three huge towers housing important Hamas offices and some businesses after the Israeli military fired warning shots, allowing occupants to flee. Fighter jets also targeted without warning multiple residential buildings, located in teeming neighborhoods where Israel alleged militants lived. In all, more than 83 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 17 children. Among the dead were both militants and civilians, including at least two women and children who died during the apartment building strikes. At a Gaza City hospital, distraught families told of pulling bloodied relatives from piles of rubble. One woman said her 4-year-old grandson and pregnant daughter-in-law were killed when an Israeli air raid hit their two-story building on Wednesday.”

“Ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 11 more Palestinians, taking the death toll to 83, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Fatalities include 17 children and seven women, while a total of 487 people were injured to date, the ministry statement said.”

Also see:

• Bodies found in Gaza, inhaling toxic gas cause of death (Al Anadolu)
• Gaza Health Ministry confirms victims asphyxiated from poisonous Israeli gas (WAFA)
• Gaza teeters on the brink as fighting with Israel escalates (Associated Press)
• Gaza death toll rises as Israel bombards the besieged enclave -video report (Middle East Eye)
• Gaza attacks: More children killed in Israeli raids as calls for calm grow (Middle East Eye)

“As ‘Operation Guardian of the Walls’ enters its fourth day, the death toll on the Israeli side climbs to seven — including five civilians, one IDF soldier and one Indian national; among the dead is also a 6-year-old child.”

“At least three Palestinians were injured in attacks by Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, according to a Palestinian humanitarian organization. One of the three Palestinians injured was transferred to a nearby hospital, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a statement. Security forces also detained three Palestinians, Israeli police said.”

“Dozens of Palestinians have been wounded in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, sources told Al Jazeera, as tensions increase amid the intensifying Israeli bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip. At least eight Palestinians were wounded on Thursday when a group of settlers from an illegal settlement attacked Duwwaneh village near Hebron, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said. Four of them needed hospitalisation, according to local sources. Separately, at least 34 Palestinians were wounded in confrontations with the Israeli army overnight in various locations across the West Bank, Ibrahim added.” Also see: 30 Palestinians wounded, hundreds suffocate in West Bank confrontations (WAFA)

“Two Palestinians shot by Israeli soldiers who believed them to be terrorists on Tuesday were members of Palestinian intelligence, neither of whom intended to commit a terror attack, Palestinian officials said Wednesday…At the time of the shooting, at the Tapuah Junction in the West Bank, Israel said it had ‘foiled’ a terror attack and that soldiers thought that as the car slowed and rolled down a window, one of the men had a gun. Ahmad Daraghme, a resident of the West Bank town of Laban al-Sharqiya near Nablus, was shot and killed on the scene. His colleague Mohammad al-Nubani was rushed to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition, the PA security services said. According to Israel’s Army Radio, Daraghme was unarmed.”

“A Palestinian man on Wednesday tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and was shot by troops at the scene, according to the military. The Israel Defense Forces said the assailant had been “neutralized,” without further elaborating. He was reported to be in moderate condition. None of the soldiers were hurt. The attempted stabbing followed a number of other recent attacks in the West Bank — including a drive-by shooting earlier this month that killed 19-year-old yeshiva student Yehuda Guetta and injured two others — and as intense fighting between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip dragged on for a third day.

Also see:

• Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in West Bank [in Nablus] (The New Arab)
• Israeli forces kill Palestinian south of Nablus (WAFA)
• Israeli settlers attack Palestinian town in West Bank, destroy part of a house (WAFA)
• Israeli settlers injure two Palestinians, vandalize property in West Bank attacks (WAFA)

“Israeli security forces injured at least eight journalists covering the violent protests in East Jerusalem, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Anadolu Agency reported. They included freelance reporters, photojournalists and Anadolu Agency reporters, who suffered injuries between Friday and Monday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the committee said Tuesday. ‘Journalists should be able to cover demonstrations in Jerusalem without fearing that Israeli security forces will recklessly shoot them with rubber bullets,’ said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado Culebras.”

“President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that his government is doing everything possible to defend the Palestinian people. The aging Palestinian leader said he was working to stop Israeli forces and settlers harming Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories. His comments came at the start of a leadership meeting at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah to discuss the repercussions of ‘Israel’s aggression toward the Palestinian people.’” Also see: Palestinian President Abbas Says Israel Responsible for West Bank, East Jerusalem Violence (Haaretz)

“A spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on Thursday called on Palestinians in the West Bank to take part in the ongoing hostilities between Israel and the terrorist group. ‘Go ahead, our people of the West Bank, fight the enemy in all areas. The Al-Qassam Brigades will be there behind you,’ said Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida. The West Bank has seen heavy clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians, with a number of deaths in recent days. Israeli security officials, however, are reluctant to dub the violence a new ‘intifada,’ or Palestinian uprising.”

“The riots late Wednesday and early Tuesday took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Lod, Tiberias, Acre, Umm al-Fahm, Bat Yam, Jaffa, Jisr a-Zarqa, Wadi Ara, Hadera and Be’er Sheva – where 22 people were arrested. The police said at least 374 people were arrested over the nighttime riots, during which 36 police officers were lightly hurt. The police said many of the detained are teens aged as young as 13. In the coastal city of Acre, Arab mob is suspected of attacking and seriously wounding a Jewish man amid clashes there on Wednesday evening. He was apparently attacked with sticks and rocks. On Thursday morning, a hotel was set on fire in the Old City by an Arab mob. The fire spread to the nearby structure and the municipality said that in the wake of the riots, Israel Police and Fires and Rescue Services can’t enter the Old City. In Lod, where one of the largest riots took place, at least 20 people were wounded, including a 33-year-old pregnant Arab woman who was hit in the head and was in serious condition. She was taken to Assaf Harofeh Hospital where she safely gave birth. At the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, an Arab man was allegedly stabbed by Jewish mob and was seriously wounded. In the northern city of Tiberias, video uploaded to social media appeared to show flag-waving Israelis attacking a car. In the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, a Border Police officer was shot and moderately hurt. He was taken to Emek Medical Center in the Jezreel Valley. The ambulance that was transporting the officer was also attacked by rocks. In apparent revenge attacks in Bat Yam, a large crowd of ultranationalists pulled an Arab man from a car and beat him until he lay on the ground motionless and bloodied. A hospital said he’s in serious condition. It later emerged the man is a resident of another mixed city of Ramla and a father of five. The man had massive laceration on his face and doctors conducted an emergency surgery to stabilize his condition. Earlier, the mob smashed the windows of a popular, Arab-owned ice cream shop ‘Victory’, while chanting, ‘Death to Arabs!’ on live television during a standoff with Border Police, who would not allow them to move into neighboring Jaffa to clash with local Arab population.”

Also see:

• As rival gangs of Jews and Arabs clash on streets, fears mount of irreparable damage to Israeli society (Washington Post)
• President warns of civil war as violence rages in Israeli cities (Israel Hayom)
• Gantz orders emergency call-up of Border Police to quell Arab-Israeli riots (Jewish News Syndicate)
• From far-right to Islamist parties, leaders condemn Jewish-Arab violence (Times of Israel)
• Attempted Lynching, Vandalism of Arab-Owned Businesses by Jewish Far-Rightists as Violence Spirals (Algemeiner)
• Gantz orders callup of Border Patrol reserves as Jewish-Arab violence spirals (Times of Israel)
• Mob ‘lynching of Palestinian’ aired live on Israeli TV (The New Arab)
• Jewish-Arab violence rolls through cities like wildfire, with police overwhelmed (Times of Israel)
• Is Israel reaching a tipping point with internal clashes? (Jerusalem Post)
• Israel in chaos: 10 Border Police units called up to quell Arab-Jewish violence (Jerusalem Post)
• Scale of violence in mixed cities getting worse (i24 News)

“…Arabs say the violence of the past two days was not directed at Jews, but at religious nationalists with close ties to the settlement movement who have moved into mixed areas in recent years, pushing Arab residents out. Israel’s Arab minority makes up about 20% of the population and are the descendants of Palestinians who stayed in the country after the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, when an estimated 700,000 fled or were driven from their homes in towns like Lod. They have citizenship, including the right to vote, but face widespread discrimination.”

“Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas confirmed Thursday that all coalition negotiations with his party to help establish a government would remain frozen due to the ongoing violence between Jewish and Arab Israelis throughout the country. With the Knesset divided into two blocs, neither of which have a majority, following the last elections in March, Ra’am has emerged as a potential kingmaker with its four Knesset seats. ‘This is not the time,’ he told Army Radio after the worst night of internal Jewish-Arab violence in years, with scenes of rioting, hate rallies and social chaos spreading throughout numerous cities, some of which were once seen as symbols of coexistence.”

“Israelis and Palestinians alike slam Biden administration’s call to roll back the escalation. Israeli Ambassador to US: It is impossible to put in the same message to Israeli leaders who call for calm and to terrorist organizations that launch missiles and rockets.”

“US President Joe Biden said that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he wishes for violence to end “sooner than later”, following an escalation of attacks against Palestinians, including storming Al Alsqa mosque during Friday prayers and the forced expulsions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. ‘I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu not too long ago,’ Biden told reporters. ‘My expectation and hope is that this will be closing down sooner than later, but Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory.’” Also see: Biden to Netanyahu: Israel has ‘unwavering support,’ urges pathway to restore calm (Jewish News Syndicate)

“The US once again blocked the release of a UN Security Council joint statement on the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza, telling member states at the second emergency meeting on the matter in three days that such a public measure would be ‘unhelpful’ in de-escalating the situation, two diplomats involved told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.”

“The Biden administration is dispatching a senior diplomat to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as the fighting intensifies between Israel and militant group Hamas. Hady Amr, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, will travel to the region immediately to press for calm, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday.  ‘He will urge on my behalf, and the behalf of President Biden, the de-escalation of violence,’ Blinken said, adding that the United States is ‘very focused’ on resolving the conflict.” Also see: Biden Sends Anti-Israel Official, Hady Amr, to Israel to Encourage ‘De-escalation’ (Breitbart)

“Twenty-five Democratic members of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, calling on him to pressure Israel to halt the planned forced eviction of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reported. ‘We write to express our deep concern about Israel’s imminent plan to forcibly displace nearly 2,000 Palestinians in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Al-Bustan and Sheikh Jarrah,’ said the letter, led by Representatives Marie Newman and Mark Pocan. ‘We call upon the Department of State to exert diplomatic pressure to prevent these acts from taking place,’ they said in the letter.”

“Deliberate or indiscriminate fire toward civilian population centers is a war crime. Israel must protect its citizens, but the violation of the laws of war by the opposing party in a conflict do not warrant or justify the violation of Israel’s obligations toward Gaza residents living under its occupation. Israel must adhere to the provisions of international law at all times, and protect the human rights of the Strip’s two million residents.”

“The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel sent an urgent letter yesterday evening to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and Nadav Argaman, director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, demanding that they act to halt the agency’s reported practice of sending threatening text messages to Palestinian citizens. The messages, written in Arabic, read: ‘Hello. You have been identified as someone who participated in acts of violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will punish you.’ Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher wrote in the urgent letter that, in response to a report on the Israeli news site Ynet, the Shin Bet did not deny its involvement in the sending of these messages, stating only: ‘We do not comment on operational activities.’ Adalah emphasized in its letter that, in addition to the nature of the threatening text messages that violate the privacy of their recipients, the sending of such messages by the Shin Bet is illegal and extends beyond the scope of its authority. Adalah further stressed that this reported activity violates the Israeli Supreme Court ruling regarding the Shin Bet’s use of location surveillance of Israeli citizens in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Tunisia, Norway and China have requested another emergency UN Security Council meeting be scheduled Friday on the worsening hostilities between Israel and Palestinians, despite ongoing US resistance for the body to take a role in the conflict. The session would be public and would include participation by Israel and the Palestinians, diplomats told AFP Wednesday. The Council has already held two closed-door video conferences since Monday, with the United States – a close Israel ally – opposing adoption of a joint declaration, which it said would not ‘help de-escalate’ the situation. According to a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, the idea of a third meeting in less than a week was pushed by the Palestinians.”

“Amid dangers posed by ongoing rocket fire from Gaza, arriving planes diverted to Ramon airport near Eilat; departures continue from Ben Gurion; US airlines begin canceling flights.”

“Several non-government organisations launched a petition on May 11 calling on tech companies to stop silencing Palestinian content, in light of recent provocations by Israeli authorities against Palestinians in the occupied city of Jerusalem which have led to some of the worst violence in years…According to the statement by the signatory organisations, which include SMEX, 7amleh, INSM, Samir Kassir Foundation, Masaar, Team Community, JOSA and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights.” Also see: Instagram blocked posts about the Aqsa Mosque in a terrorism screening error. (New York Times); Instagram, Twitter Blame Glitches for Deleting Palestinian Posts About Sheikh Jarrah Evictions (Haaretz)

“Nobody in Gaza misses the sight of horror and bloodshed. But under Israel’s siege, we are bleeding whether or not there is a war.”

“While Israeli leaders may think their subjugation of Palestinians is sustainable, the unrest in Jerusalem and its escalation beyond the city limits shows it is not.”

“It’s not just Sheikh Jarrah and Damascus Gate. For the young generation, equality isn’t a dream to be fulfilled when the whole country is ready for change.”

“Nine Arab citizens of Israel tell Haaretz why they took to the streets even before the escalation.”

“…the future of Israel-Palestine will increasingly take shape with no regard for an imaginary line etched in green. The lines that remain to be crossed are thresholds of political courage—and such shifts become easier by the day as a consensus is building around not just recognizing the reality on the ground, but doing something about it.”

“While the eyes of the world have been on Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and attacks on the al-Aqsa mosque, the suppression of solidarity protests by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces has received less attention. Like the Israelis in Sheikh Jarrah, PA security forces have deployed tear gas, flash grenades, and physical force against Palestinian youth in the cities of Nablus, Jenin, Hebron, and Ramallah over the past few days. As the hashtags #SaveSheikhJarrah and #SaveAlAqsa have trended globally, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has abandoned the neighbourhood and its residents as he desperately tries to save his political legitimacy.”

“…the Israeli government and its American Jewish allies insist that Palestinian refugees abandon hope of returning to their homeland. This demand is drenched in irony, because no people in human history have clung as stubbornly to the dream of return as have Jews. Establishment Jewish leaders denounce the fact that Palestinians pass down their identity as refugees to their children and grandchildren. But Jews have passed down our identity as refugees for 2,000 years. In our holidays and liturgy we continually mourn our expulsion and express our yearning for return. ‘After being forcibly exiled from their land,’ proclaims Israel’s Declaration of Independence, ‘the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion.’ If keeping faith that exile can be overcome is sacred to Jews, how can we condemn Palestinians for doing the same thing?”

“Every “round” brings with it its own bloodthirsty ones, during every round they exit their holes like mice, remove their politically-correct masks, and their true face is exposed to all: All they want is to see blood. Arab blood, as much as possible – blood, the more the better – blood, the main thing is that Arab blood is spilled. Residential towers are collapsing like houses of cards in Gaza, and ruined worlds beneath them are a mild joke for them. They want to see blood, not only ruins, fear and destruction. Dozens of dead during the first 24 hours, about half of them women and children, are nothing to them. They want much more blood. Until rivers of blood flood Gaza, and with it Lod, if possible, their appetite will be only partially satiated. Until the Palestinians get down on their knees, bow down before Israel and surrender to it without conditions, for eternity – they won’t be satisfied. They want a victory photo, the victory of the lie that they so greatly desire, and that will never be attained.”

“Joe Biden has long facilitated Israel’s impunity. Now, as Gaza burns, he is doing it as president.”

“Attempting to find some solace in an otherwise trying situation, the Al-Natshehs, a Palestinian family who lost their home in an airstrike, took comfort Wednesday in knowing that this was all very complicated. ‘You know, having your longtime family home demolished by an Israeli missile is a tough pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, you gotta realize there’s two sides to every story,’ said Rabia Al-Natsheh, the matriarch of the family, adding that, despite the fact that her 5-year-old son was killed in the attack while her husband suffered third-degree burns, she ultimately found peace of mind in knowing that it’s a very nuanced issue that can be pretty complex when you look at it. ‘Sure, we have experienced incredible hardship and been forced to the brink of destitution, but then again, it’s not a black-and-white thing. It’s honestly a relief knowing that the loss of our home is simply a part of a long, inscrutable series of events, the root causes of which are too difficult for anyone to objectively assess.’ Al-Natsheh added that she was grateful to have plenty of time to read multiple different perspectives on the subject at her new refugee camp.”